By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : A US-India business lobby says New Delhi’s leadership will be necessary to achieve a meaningful Doha agreement through the reduction of tariff barriers, domestic supports and non-tariff barriers to freer trade.
The US-India Business Council (USIBC), representing over 250 of the largest US companies seeking broader trade and commercial ties with India, urged all World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to support a successful conclusion of the renewed world trade talks.
But “India’s leadership will be necessary to achieve a meaningful Doha agreement that will help lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty through the reduction of tariff barriers, domestic supports and non-tariff barriers to freer trade,” USIBC president Ron Somers said Tuesday.
“India has already shown its commitment to domestic economic reforms, leading to rapid growth of nine percent per year and a growing role as a leader in R&D and in the new knowledge economy,” he said.
“Reducing barriers to trade in goods, services, and investment in a multilateral environment will promote benefits that reach beyond just economic gains, but will also enhance knowledge and technology sharing which can improve access to water, power and education that will reap rewards for poverty-stricken areas for generations to come,” Somers said.
Noting that a far-reaching and balanced Doha agreement has the potential to positively impact the 1.1 billion people living in poverty throughout the world, he said as part of its commitment to an enhanced trade and investment environment, USIBC has launched its US-India Free Trade Initiative.
The initiative seeks to reduce bilateral trade and investment barriers in a socially sustainable manner, and ultimately lead the way to a US-India Free Trade Agreement – potentially the largest ever negotiated, the business advocacy group said.
Lauding the renewal of the WTO negotiations, USIBC said it was also preparing to rally industry support for the talks based on draft agricultural and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) texts released July 17.
Recognising that negotiations in those two sectors are key to the successful conclusion of the Doha Round, USIBC said it supports the US, India and other members in their pursuit of ambitious results in all modalities, including non-tariff barriers, services, and intellectual property protections.
The Doha Development Agenda of the WTO was launched in Doha, Qatar in November 2001 with the intention of advancing poverty alleviation and economic development through the benefits of a free international trading system.