Indo-Chinese WTO camaraderie

India and China ask rich World Trade Organization members to eliminate farm subsidies that allow them to corner 90 per cent of total entitlements

INDIA AND China have asked rich members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to eliminate their farm subsidies that exceed the ceiling levels, to remove "the asymmetry" between them and developing members. In a joint stepby-step proposal submitted to the WTO, the countries have asked for the reduction process to begin as early as 2019. WTO rules provide flexibilities to a handful of countries, allowing them to corner 90 per cent of total entitlements, amounting to a staggering US $160 billion annually, the proposal says. The move comes after WTO members, including the US and the EU, questioned India's Minimum Support Price programme for farm produce.