G33 Ministerial Meet: Goyal concerned over stalemate on public stockholding

At the G33 Ministerial Meeting in Geneva, a coalition of developing countries of which India is a key member, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed his concerns over the stalemate in reaching a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding and special safeguard mechanism for food security.

Goyal stressed that the decision related to the public stockholding and special safeguard mechanism are the key areas of concern for the developing nations.

"It is clear that the two items primarily...this time...public stock holding and special safeguard mechanism...I feel it is unfortunate that in her (Director-General WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) brief comments...She referred to a decision that has been made thrice as a mere declaration and I would urge the chair to convey...that it was not a declaration but a decision that was made in 2013, 2015 and 2018 that we are sitting here to discuss," he said.

 

The minister added that India has had an experience in transiting from a food deficit nation to a largely self-sufficient food nation.

"Subsidies and other govt interventions played a very role to achieve this. All of us must work collectively...towards a permanent solution," he added.

Notably, in the ongoing negotiations, improvements are being sought by developing countries over the ministerial decision adopted at the ninth ministerial conference of the WTO in Bali in December 2013 where members agreed to negotiate a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes by the 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

It was agreed that in the interim, until a permanent solution is reached, Members would exercise due restraint (commonly termed as 'peace clause') in raising disputes in respect of public stockholding programmes for food security purposes instituted before 7th December 2013, even if countries exceeded their permissible limits.

On the sidelines of the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in the Swiss town of Geneva on Sunday, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held discussions with the Director-General WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pertaining to prospects of a permanent solution to public stockholding for food security.

At the G33 Ministerial Meeting, Goyal also held extensive talks with his counterparts from developing and least developed nations.

Taking to Twitter, Goyal wrote, "Fighting for rights of our farmers within an hour of landing at WTO, Geneva at the G33 Ministerial Meeting. Discussed prospects of a permanent solution to public stockholding for food security with DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and my counterparts from the developing and least developed nations."

Moreover, the Commerce and Industry Minister will also meet with the Trade Representative of the United States of America, Katherine Tai.

Goyal held a meeting with South Africa Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel in Geneva.

The key areas of discussions and negotiations at this year's conference include WTO's response to the pandemic, fisheries subsidies negotiations, agriculture issues including Public Stockholding for food security, WTO reforms and a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission.

The ministerial meeting began in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday, after a gap of five years. The Indian delegation at the meeting is led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. "India has a vital stake in protecting the interests of all stakeholders in the country as well as the interests of the developing and poor nations that look up to the leadership of India at multilateral forums including WTO," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said earlier in a statement.