WTO&Pakistan's continued support of India

[Guest guest]

India not isolated, admits WTO

 

Rohit Bansal/Agencies

 

Doha, Nov 11: The Like-Minded Group (LMG) of countries including

India, Malaysia and Pakistan remained united in its opposition on

Sunday to non-trade issues being put on to the agenda of the World

Trade Organisation (WTO).

 

In an unlikely coalition, Pakistan continued to support India and

India's ability to keep many developing countries on its side

prompted WTO spokesman Mr Keith Rockwell to admit that the country

was not isolated.

 

He rejected the US threat of isolating India on the issue of a new

trade negotiation round admitting that Malaysia, Tanzania and

Pakistan were rallying behind New Delhi. "India is opposed to the

inclusion of investment in WTO and they are not alone in opposing

it," Mr Rockwell told Indian newspersons on the sidelines of the

meetings of the whole committees.

 

He ruled out the possibility of a vote in case no consensus emerged

on the launch of a new round, thus rejecting the much-hyped theory of

India's isolation. "A vote is impossible," he said. Mr Rockwell's

thoughts were echoed by Pakistani envoy in Geneva Munir Akram who

said at a press briefing, "India isn't isolated in the LMG, in fact,

trade negotiation is an area where India and Pakistan have a large

convergence of positions."

 

As for doubts about the LMG itself dissipating under US-EU pressure,

he said, "The negotiations are at a critical juncture, and so far, we

the LMG have hung together. There is, of course, a wide area to be

covered. But all of them out there have their hearts in the right

place, because of the inequities." He admitted that not all LMG

members were opposed to a new round, but said, "that's because of

nomenclatural understanding of the term. The basic issue of

inequities and priorities holds".

 

Mr Akram denied that LMG, or indeed developing countries, would be

the ones to walk away without an agreement on a new multilateral

trade agenda. "We won't be the ones to walk away, but (it might be so

from) the other side," he said, citing textiles, environment, and

labour as potential "deal breakers".

 

The Pak envoy, however, put up a defence for US trade representative

Robert D Zoellick that the US Congress had taken away his powers to

cut a deal on quotas and tariffs. "That's not our understanding,

certainly on quotas," Mr Akram said.

 

Is Pakistan sincere about the coalition? Or would it,

characteristically, be cutting a secret bilateral deal with the US?

Both questions didn't provoke the envoy. "Our President was in New

York yesterday (Saturday). And we haven't changed our position (in

Doha) today. So, I guess that should tell you something," Mr Akram

told The Financial Express after the presser. But isn't there US

pressure? "Intense," he confessed, going on to elaborate, "Our

understanding is that the US needs us more than we need it".

 

Echoing an equally "independent" sentiment, Ugandan tourism, trade,

and industry minister Edward R Rugumayo said, "The speed of a locust

swarm is determined by the slowest member. We may be a drag to the

speed at which the developed world wants to run, but can we be wished

away?" Mr Rugumayo made it clear that while standards on environment

may be "an electorate issue" in the developed world, "similar

electoral issues are now faced by governments in developing

societies.Dictatorships are doomed," he said.

 

The LMG comprises India, Pakistan, Uganda, Dominican Republic, Egypt,

Honduras, Malaysia, Cuba, Jamaica, Tanzania, Kenya, Indonesia, Sri

Lanka, and Zimbabwe.