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India Disappointed With Revised Draft Ministerial Declaration

November 13, 2001

Doha - India has expressed its strong disappointment with the latest revised text of the Draft Ministerial Declaration of the Doha Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was circulated this morning, as the text has failed to reflect India's concerns and demands in a substantial manner particularly in respect of Singapore Issues, Environment and Labour, and Implementation. Giving India's response in an intervention at the meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Doha Ministerial Conference at the Heads of Delegation level, Mr. Murasoli Maran, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said that while India was very keen for the success of the Doha Ministerial, the very serious concerns and difficulties pointed out by several delegations including India had not been given due consideration and urged that the core concerns pointed out by India be taken on board.

On implementation, he reiterated India's demand that outstanding implementaion issues should be resolved on priority and the text should explicitly confirm the common understanding that outstanding implementation issues would be negotiated as part of a package or single undertaking. "The textiles tirets have now been put in square brackets. This causes us alarm," the Minister said.

On Singapore issues, such as investment, competition, etc., India has strongly urged that the ongoing study process in the Working Groups should continue and the Working Group reports may be made available to the Fifth Ministerial Conference.

India has repeated its strong objections to making any reference to Labour issues in the Doha Ministerial Declaration and its opposition to any widening of the environmental window in the WTO as the existing WTO rules provided enough flexibility to take care of environmental concerns. "My delegation is not in a position to accept the word "negotiations" appearing anywhere in the text relating to "environment" as there are strong apprehensions in my country that it would be used to legitimise protectionist measures taken in the name of the environment," the Minister stressed while highlighting India's major concerns.

Referring to negotiations of the extension of higher level of protection for geographical indications to additional products other than wines and spirits, which was one of the paras in the 26 September, 2001, the Minister said, "My delegation cannot accept a situation where the negotiations for providing higher level of GI protection is neither specifically provided for nor gets unambiguously covered under the resolution of the remaining implementation issues."