India, South Africa and Argentina, key members of NAMA-11 alliance at World Trade Organisation, on Monday rejected a move by developed countries to limit the flexibility on tariffs and imports of developing countries to protect their domestic industry and farm sector.
"We reject any attempt to further constrain the already limited flexibilities in the modalities text, particularly the very recent anti-concentration proposals," a NAMA-11 communique said.
Meanwhile, the US and the European Union is pressing the developing nations to make concessions in opening the markets to ensure a global trade deal.
To have a meaningful outcome to this round, all countries would have to secure meaningful new market access in agriculture, manufacturing and services and that is particularly true when it comes to the interests of the developing nations, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.
The NAMA-11 alliance of developing countries said it would reject any plans that limit the flexibilities they have got to protect their nascent industries, particularly a clause in the draft WTO text that restraints a country from seeking protection for a whole sector.
It noted that the anti-concentration clause is an irritant to developing countries as it restrains them from seeking protection for a whole sector, which it finds is facing cheap imports. Instead, a country has been allowed to use the overall level of protection across different sectors up to a certain limit.
India said the proposal on 'anti-concentration' is a caveat on the use of flexibility that defeats "the very rationale of flexibilities". On other contentious issue of sectorals, India said it is willing to examine the proposals but they cannot be used as a tool to gouge out market access for developing countries.
Putting a pressure on the developing countries, EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson also said the success of this round was based on developing countries making 'real' cuts in industrial tariffs.
On the other key issue of bringing down duties to zero on certain sectors and completely opening them, the alliance said sectoral negotiations should remain voluntary and should not be linked with other conditions.
The Nama-11 reiterated its willingness to engage constructively with all negotiating partners to seek a fair, balanced and development oriented outcome in the negotiations on industrial goods under the Doha Round of talks to liberalise world trade.
It, however, said developed countries must show leadership by indicating from the outset their readiness to fulfill the mandate for a development round.
