Nepal to gear up talks for setting its agendas on board

Nepal is soon stepping up talks with other least developed and land-locked countries to set its priorities on board for multilateral trade negotiations and get those heard when leaders from 153 World Trade Organization´s (WTO´s) member countries meet for seventh ministerial conference in Geneva later this year. According to a senior Commerce Ministry official, Nepal is participating in a meeting of land locked countries in Swaziland on October 14, during which geographically locked economies across the world would set out their voices for rendering the new free trade pact favorable for them.

"Our endeavor will be to build a common voice for seeking special treatment for landlocked countries under the Doha round of negotiations, especially as geographical limitations pushes up our cost of production and we need extra-incentives for enjoying benefits of global trade pact," said Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha. Likewise, commerce ministers from all the least developed countries across the globe are meeting in Darussalam, Tanzania, on October 21-22, for setting up a common agenda for WTO negotiations and the ministerial conference. Nepal and other smaller economies have geared up their moves after the WTO members expressed renewed commitment to conclude long-stalled Doha round of multilateral trade talks, which promise to make global trading regime fair and pro-poor. This breakthrough was achieved during a recent meeting of commerce ministers in India. The WTO ministerial is scheduled for November 30 to December 2.

Owing to self-sustaining nature of agriculture and weak commercial production base, officials said, Nepal has no particular view on negotiations on agricultural agreement one of the key issues of contention in the global trade. "We will reinforce the developing countries´ voice for sharp reduction of farm subsidies and also safeguard measure, because those in the long term could be in the interest of domestic producers," stated Ojha. Under non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations related to the industrial products, however, Nepal would be seeking special preferences because rapid opening of developed and developing countries markets will threaten its exports there. Besides, it would also want to safeguard measures to protect domestic industries, something which developing countries are collectively fighting for with the developed industrial nations.

The Doha round of WTO negotiations had begun in 2001. However, deadlock between the major trading blocs on the issues of slashing farm subsidies in rich countries and tariffs on industrial goods in developing countries has failed attempts to forge a new agreement. The final push in July 2008 in Geneva had failed on dispute over the special safeguard mechanism - a provision that developing countries demanded to guard against sudden surges in imports or drop in commodity prices. Developed countries, mainly the US, opposed the mechanism, arguing that it could give rise to abuses. However, leaders of developing countries bloc China and India deemed the mechanism necessary for safeguarding livelihoods, food security and rural development for farmers in developing countries. This difference has mainly kept the negotiators from reaching an agreement on agriculture and NAMA.
Source:Republica