ri lt re and ood ana ement 8.45
Similarly, the issue of agricultural subsidies serious deliberations on alternatives of bargaining
(the Boxes) need to be equitably defined so that power.
they do not look biased. Here also the provisions The second level suggestion to India was in the
of the WTO need revision. area of preparedness for the WTO regime. India
To fight out this typical challenge, experts was required to set new and internationally best
suggested that the WTO is not God-given. Its standards in the area of production by boosting
provisions may go in for change if concerted areas such as—research and development,
efforts are made by the member countries in this biotechnology, information technology, health
direction. Like-minded nations who face the
and phytosanitary matters. This will make Indian
same kind of crises should come together and go
goods and services compete in the international
for a joint effort, from inside the WTO, for the
market.64
revisions or relaxations in its provisions. Morality
related and ethical issues might be used as eye-
openers and a handy tool to have the attention of wto And AGrIculturAl suBsIdIes65
the developed nations and the WTO alike. Ams
Prima facie this suggestion looked as a preach
The subsidies provided by the government to the
easier said than done. Post-1995 saw a polarisation
agricultural sector (i.e., domestic support) is termed
of like-minded countries inside the WTO that
by the WTO as Aggregate Measure of Support
finally culminated into failure of the Seatle Round
of the WTO deliberations. The most powerful (AMS).66 It is calculated in terms of product and
country in the world failed to convene a meeting input subsidies. The WTO argues that the product
that too in its most distant region (the Alaska)—a subsidies like minimum support prices and input
moral triumph of the poor over the rich. This subsidies (non-product) like credit, fertilizers,
incidence while indicating a possible failure of the irrigation and power will cut production cost of
WTO itself, boosted the morale of the developing farming and will give undue advantage to such
countries to go for stronger groupings and even countries in their access to the world market—
sub-groupings under the WTO. such subsidies are called to cause ‘distortions’ to
After the Doha Round the USA had hinted to the world trade. Such subsidies are not permitted
forget multilateralism and indicated its intentions in one sense as they have a minimum permissible
towards bilateralism. The European Union limit de minimis under the provisions which is 5
had the same intentions, but it did not show it per cent and 10 per cent of their total agricultural
as openly as the USA. The year 2002 came as a output in the case of developed and developing
watershed period for the WTO when the EU countries, respectively.
in its new diplomatic move announced to hear
the agriculture-related issues of the developing 64. Because even the agriculture related provisions are
nations. The USA announced the intentions modified the global market will always run after
the agri-products which are the best—pricewise,
few days after the EU announcement—just few qualitywise, etc.
days before the Cancun Meet of the WTO. The 65. A simplified and easy to understand analysis done
Hongkong deliberation of the WTO, though it on the basis of the documents of the Information
did not give anything concrete to the developing and Media Relations Division of the World Trade
Organisation Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland,
world, provided enough hope, there is no doubt October, 2007.
in it. The real picture emerges in the next meet 66. efined in Article 1 and Annexures 3 & 4, Agreement
for which the different pressure groups had on Agriculture (AoA), WTO, 1994.