This story is from December 9, 2017

India begins battle to avoid global rules on e-commerce, services

As ministers from over 160 World Trade Organization (WTO) converge for their biennial meeting, India has a battle at hand to avoid global rules on services and e-commerce, while seeking a new mechanism for domestic support for food procurement and seeking sharp cuts in support to farmers in the US and Europe.
India begins battle to avoid global rules on e-commerce, services
Key Highlights
  • At World Trade Organization, India has a battle at hand to avoid global rules on services and e-commerce.
  • For the last 16 years, WTO has been negotiating the Doha Round but has made little headway due to the reluctance of the US and the EU to play ball.
BUENOS AIRES: As ministers from over 160 World Trade Organization(WTO) converge for their biennial meeting, India has a battle at hand to avoid global rules on services and e-commerce, while seeking a new mechanism for domestic support for food procurement and seeking sharp cuts in support to farmers in the US and Europe.
Although the government is not averse to a global framework on services, officials said the proposals on the table are something that they are not comfortable with.
For instance, the European Union and Australia want to thrust domestic rules across WTO countries, which will reduce flexibility for governments. On its part, India wants issues related to easier access for Indian software and accounting professionals along with nurses and doctors addressed.
On e-commerce the view is that current negotiations should go on at the WTO headquarters in Geneva as various options are being discussed. Besides, there is fear that under the banner of e-commerce several other aspects are sought to be introduced that will leave countries like with little flexibility in seeking domestic content for programmes such as Digital India and may also make it tough to depend on open source software. Plus, it limits the government's ability to tailor rules that serve its interests instead of policies that benefit only Amazon or Alibaba.
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India is banking on support from the African Group to block the launch of negotiations, which may culminate in global standards in two-four years, but sources said there is a split with many African countries indicating their backing for the move from Japan, South Korea and Singapore, with tacit support from the US. China too is not in favour of international disciplines but is open to a more accelerated work programme.

For the last 16 years, WTO has been negotiating the Doha Round – which includes agriculture, services and import duty on industrial goods – but has made little headway due to the reluctance of the US and the EU to play ball. These countries instead want new issues such as e-commerce, investment facilitation and a global regime for MSMEs. The US is blocking any move to address the concerns of the flawed rules decided in 1994 which are impacting the development of the poorer countries.
In this background, India and China have joined hands to get the developed world to reduce subsidies offered to their farmers. “A reduction in domestic support by the rich countries is the first stage of reform. It is the mother of all distortions in trade,” an Indian official said, claiming that there is support from 120 countries on the issue.
In the past too ministerial meetings have begun with support from majority of the members but by the second or the third day there are only a few left in the same camp as India. When the ministerial meet kicks off on Sunday, India is going to make a strong case for some flexibility to the package on public stock holding agreed in Bali four years ago to correct an anomaly that would have restricted the government´s ability on minimum support price. “It was agreed to find a final solution by this ministerial and it can be done,” an official said.
The other issue that is likely to be clinched is a global agreement on support for fisheries although the agenda has now been reduced only to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. On this issue too Indian officials said, they would seek a postponement as it will impact poor fish farmers who receive support from the state governments.
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