India seeks WTO waiver to sell subsidised foodgrains

‘WTO’S priority must be to revive world economy, sustain post-pandemic growth’

India has formally proposed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow members to sell foodgrains from their public stockholdings to weather the ongoing food crisis that has led to sky-rocketing inflation.

“We need to look at the existing constraints in the Agreement on Agriculture that are coming in the way of augmenting (food) supplies during this crisis. And we know that there is no other substitute than augmenting the global supply at this moment,” India’s ambassador to the WTO Brajendra Navnit said last week.

Existing WTO rules do not allow member countries to export subsidised foodgrains to the world market, as it may distort global food prices. India believes an exception needs to be made amid the current food crisis emanating from the Russia-ukraine war.

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement that India is ready to supply food stocks to the world if WTO can find a way out from the existing constraints, Navnit said the world trade body needed to find ways and means to support the efforts of members who are in a position to help others through distributions from their stocks during the current food crisis. “And we should not link this in any manner to the ongoing deadlock in negotiations in the agricultural sector on WTO’S response to pandemic, which includes both IP (intellectual property) and non-ip agenda,” he added.

Navnit said WTO’S topmost priority should be to revive the world economy and sustain the growth post-pandemic amid rising inflation in most countries. “These are getting transmitted through food, fertiliser and fuel crises and it is going to devastate the economy. It is going to wipe out a lot of gains, which were made before the pandemic notwithstanding the pandemic. For MC12, we think that WTO has a role to play to take care of these important problems,” he said.

The 12th WTO Ministerial (MC12) will take place on June 12-15 at WTO headquarters in Geneva after the event was postponed last year due to the pandemic and travel restrictions.

“We are looking forward to a successful Ministerial that will deliver on the current food crisis and the ongoing pandemic as well as longpending mandated issues which we have in our hands. Time is short and we should try to close as many deliverables as possible before MC12 in the coming five weeks, so that we do not overburden our ministers with the negotiating agenda during the Ministerial itself,” he added.

On the proposal of patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines, Navnit said though a few members think it is not achievable, India believes it remains an integral part of the response to pandemic and one of key deliverables for MC12. “For us, an outcome on this proposal needs to be immediately doable, practical and one that ensures security of supply and equitable and affordable access. I hope that going forward in these discussions despite the divergences, members will engage in good faith to achieve an effective outcome on this critical issue based on the text-based negotiation in TRIPS Council,” Navnit said.

On agriculture, Navnit said India is disappointed to note that significant divergences remain across all pillars of negotiations, including public stockholding. “Any outcome on MC12 should include a simple, efficient and permanent solution on extending public stock holding for food security purposes, to new programmes and new products. Any outcome without addressing this core issue, which is overdue for years, will not enhance WTO’S credibility. We always remember 2020 as the deadline for fisheries negotiations, but we forget the deadline for permanent solution to public stockholding, which was three years before that was 2017,” he added.

On fishery subsidies, India objected to efforts by the chair to collect information through a questionnaire from ambassadors in their personal capacities. “Ambassadors at the WTO are not here in their private capacities. They are representatives of their respective governments. Further, it is unclear how the samplings were done, which members were called for, for these bilaterals and the criteria used to select 50 members. Lack of transparency in the process can lead us nowhere, if any, it will only create mistrust and confusion,” Navnit added.

Existing WTO rules do not allow member countries to export subsidised foodgrains to the world market, as it may distort global food prices. India believes an exception needs to be made amid the current food crisis emanating from the Russia-ukraine war