Trade Facilitation Agreement - WTO Impasse - India and US Resolve Differences
COMMERCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a statement said,
We are extremely happy that India and the US have successfully resolved their differences relating to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes in the WTO in a manner that addresses our concerns.
This will end the impasse at the WTO and also open the way for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
We urge the WTO membership to take this forward in the General Council on behalf of the Ministerial Conference and pave the way to spurring the WTO to more such successes.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo today welcomed the news that the US and India have agreed on the way forward for implementing key elements of the package of agreements reached last December at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali.
The DG said,
This breakthrough represents a significant step in efforts to get the Bali package and the multilateral trading system back on track. It will now be important to consult with all WTO members so that we can collectively resolve the current impasse as quickly as possible.
Implementation of all aspects of the Bali package would be a major boost to the WTO, enhancing our ability to deliver beneficial outcomes to all our members.
Advancing our work toward a permanent solution on public stockholding and the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, including its provisions for technical assistance for developing countries, will be integral to this work.