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WTO agreement inequitable: Ajit

Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh said on Monday that the World Trade Organisation agreement has been detrimental to the interests of the farmers and there are many provisions which need to be given a relook, including heavy subsidies given by the developed countries in the agricultural sector.

"Non-inclusion of rice as a geographically indicated product in the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement is only one of the issues which has worked against India in WTO. Subsidies by developed countries could hamper our own trade in agriculture," Singh said.

He said developed countries instead of reducing their subsidies had actually increased them to the detriment of the developing ones.

Export subsidies by developed countries were to be reduced by 21 per cent in volume and 36 per cent in monetary terms in six years with 1986-90 as the base year.

Developed countries were also supposed to reduce aggregate measure of support on the domestic front by 20 per cent. But this did not include the green and blue box measures.

India's proposal was that the 'blue box' support and the direct and decoupled payments should be merged into the 'amber box' and subject it to a cap with the reduction commitments from developed countries, he added.

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