While there is protracted battle going on to end the Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India has indicated that it is not very desperate to sign unless developing countries' (including India) concerns are addressed at the highest level of negotiations.

“We are very keen, eager but not desperate,” D K Mittal, additional secretary, department of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry and India’s chief negotiator for the Doha Round told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of FICCI seminar on WTO negotiations on agriculture.

“There are large number of issues which have been resolved, but there are a number of issues where consensus has not been able to arrive among member countries. We should not forget a lot of work has been done, a lot many issues have been agreed to. It is only some outstanding issues, where the consensus has not arrived,” the additional secretary commented.

“We don’t know when will it happen. The successful completion of Doha Round needs political support,” Mittal added. However, the WTO member countries will start deliberations in Geneva next month to resolve the pending issues.

“Next month onwards, we will have further intensive discussions (in Geneva) and the intention of all the members is to conclude the Doha Round this year,” Mittal told reporters.

Efforts are on to conclude the deal in 2011, which started in Doha in late 2001. The persistent hurdle has been the arrangements in the agriculture sector, with most ofthe developed countries not on the same page with developing countries. There are other sectors where is a lack of consensus on both sides.   

Mittal also released a report on “Doha Development Agenda for Developed Nations: Carve-Outs in Recent Agriculture Negotiations” compiled by the centre for WTO studies.

The report said, “the developed countries will be able to delay opening their markets and would be able to control the prices of agricultural goods through carve outs.”

The WTO says carve-out is an explicit commitment by WTO governments to allow publicly funded services in core areas of their responsibility.

According to the report, “If one looks at the carve-outs and their quantitative effects; it comes out very clearly that the proposals are in favour of developed countries.”

The paper points out that developed nations such as the USA, EU nations, Canada, Switzerland, Norway and Japan are seeking ‘carve-outs’ in the recent negotiations under Doha round with respect to commitments in domestic support and market access.