India Demands Results on Doha WTO Report

Date: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 9:51 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

In Doha, WTO members agreed to submit requests for liberalizing other
countries' trade laws by June 30 and to submit their offers to
liberalize by March 31, 2003. India is demanding that the WTO show
results because the deadline for action is past. India has a legitimate
gripe that they are not seeing action on the Doha Report.

This report by the WTO may have some ugly surprises for American
workers. That's because part of this report will deal with removing
barriers to the movement of business personnel who provide IT services.
In the view of the WTO, the H-1B visa is considered too restrictive and
needs to be liberalized in order to allow for the free flow of workers
across international boundaries.

The article below is dull and bland and it uses diplomatic language to
throw fog over their real agenda. Here are two major issues that you
can bet India wants WTO action on:

1 - Elimination of all limits on the number of nonimmigrant visas that
can be issued. This would in effect allow companies to import unlimited
numbers of workers into the US.

2 - India and many other countries are demanding WTO sanctions against
any country that attempts to restrict outsourcing. India is
particularly concerned with bills such as the anti-outsourcing
legislation being debated in states such as New Jersey. India has
threatened to take New Jersey to the World Court if the
anti-outsourcing law is passed, and they are hoping the Doha report
will give them some powerful ammunition.

The fate of American workers will hinge on decisions made by the
free-trade globalists in the WTO. If the past is any guide, they will
favor the interests of multi-national corporations who consider open
borders and free-trade as a profit booster. They don't concern
themselves with petty local issues such as job loss, salary stagnation,
and social angst.

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownewsdata.asp?newsno=19100&newscat=Top

India concerned about slow progress on WTO issues
IANS

Monday, April 07, 2003

India has expressed concern over the slow progress on developmental
issues raised at the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha summit and
wants them to be resolved before the Cancun ministerial meet in
September.

NEW DELHI: "For many developing countries, success of Cancun is
predicated upon successful resolution of these key developmental
issues," S.N. Menon, additional secretary in the commerce ministry,
stated on India's behalf at the WTO's trade negotiations committee
(TNC) sessions held last week in Geneva.

The meetings with Geneva-based high-level officials focused on the WTO
negotiations currently under way, the commerce ministry stated Monday.

While underlining its commitment to progress during the negotiations,
India desired developmental issues discussed in Doha be resolved at the
earliest, the commerce ministry stated.

India's concerns are over lack of meaningful progress on any of the
developmental issues such as implementation, special and differential
(S&D) treatment by assigning more responsibility to developed nations,
trade related intellectual property rights and public health.

"India looks forward to substantial results in these areas before
Cancun, including the unresolved issue of low or insufficient
manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceutical sector.

"This is affecting millions of people in the poorest parts of the world
for which a multilaterally agreed solution would have to be found," the
ministry stated.

Regarding negotiations on agriculture, India said it attaches the
highest priority to S&D provisions and looks forward to early
discussions on crucial concepts like sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS)
issues related with food and health, and special safeguard measures
(SSM).

India sought early resolution of these issues as part of the
negotiations on agriculture, which failed to meet the March 31
deadline.

On the non-agricultural market access, Menon expressed India's keenness
to engage constructively in further discussions in the negotiating
group on market access, to follow up on the proposals already made in
Doha.

"For India and many other developing countries, we expect an outcome
that fully factors in the financial and developmental needs of
developing countries, the concept of less than full reciprocity and
emphasis on market access for products of export interest to developing
and least developed countries," said Menon.

Stating that India is working closely with other developing and least
developed countries, Menon said, "On services, we believe that there
will be progress on the basis of the momentum that is being generated
by the request and offer process and the bilateral negotiations
thereof."

On Singapore issues, related with investment and competition policy,
India has reiterated that further expansion of the agenda would be
unproductive.

"As it is, we are struggling with the existing agreements, as evidenced
by the fact that we have not been able to meet any of the deadlines
decided upon by the ministers at Doha," Menon stated.

On decisions to be taken at Cancun, India expressed much would depend
"upon our ability to complete the work in respect of the issues for
which deadlines have already been laid down, including those that we
have missed. This again would depend on strong political commitment".

Help to Keep ZaZona.com Online

Donate to the Cause at
http://www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubcribe send an email to

Back to archives