Cancun Revisited
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Code : ITF0006
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Region : :Null |
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SINGAPORE ISSUES The 1996 Singapore Ministerial Conference of WTO decided to set up three new working groups on trade and investment, competition policy and transparency in government procurement. The trade and investment issuewas concernedwith the rights of foreign investors to enter and operate in the host country. It sought to address the need for “non-discriminatory multilateral rules for investment which will increase transparency and stability”, besides balancing “the needs of a country receiving investmentwith the needs of the countrieswhere it originates.”4 The competition issue dwelt on the competition policy of various countries... AGRICULTURAL ISSUES Agricultural issues have been a part of WTO ever since its inception. Developing nations are dependent on agriculture for the most part. Farmers in the developing nations, though efficient, trailed behind their counterparts in developed countries in the matter of exports. Governments in the developed world extended magnanimous support to their farmers. The rich world spends over $300 billion a year on subsidies to farmers. Besides, they imposed tariffs on imported agricultural products... PROCEDURAL ISSUES Apart from the agricultural and Singapore issues, there was general discontent among the members over WTO’s decision-making procedures. Of course these were not part of the negotiations. These concerned the ‘how’ of WTO negotiations and decision-making. The discontent over procedural issues came to the fore after the DohaMinisterial. Despite the success of the Doha Meet, the developing nations were not wholly satisfied with the means adopted at the Ministerial to achieve the ends. Speaking at the India Economic Summit on September 4th 2001, the then IndianCommerceMinisterMurasoliMaran, criticised theMinisterial’s opacity in decision-making... |
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