CII committed to development friendly outcome at G4 meeting

11 Apr '07

3 min read

On Industrial goods, CII is of the opinion that WTO is about 'binding' and the extent of concession a Member is offering is measured starting from the bound rates. CII is of the view that the “Swiss formula” for tariff reduction should have a coefficient, which is the average bound tariff of every country to ensure that the mandate for NAMA negotiations in respect of less than full reciprocity and elimination of tariff peaks and tariff escalation is fully respected. The minimum coefficient for developing countries should not go below 30, Mr Seshasayee said.

Mr Seshasayee also urged the negotiators not to link the coefficient in the formula to paragraph 8 flexibilities agreed to in the July package and confirmed in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. CII is of the view that paragraph 8 flexibility is needed to protect extremely vulnerable sectors with a very large proportion of small and medium sectors. CII also does not favour sectoral negotiations.

On Services, Mr Seshasayee called upon developed country Members to provide meaningful offers in the two modes of supply, which are of great importance to developing countries viz. Mode 1 and Mode 4. The developed country Members should be made to improve their offers substantially in these two modes.

CII is concerned about the reported attempts of some developed country Members to keep Mode 4 commitments outside the purview of the negotiations on the plea that it is a politically sensitive issue for them. This will seriously jeopardize the negotiations.

Confederation of Indian Industry

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