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Journalism of Courage
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, who rejoined the WTO talks in Geneva on Wednesday, said the US must offer ‘real’ cuts in subsidy to its farmers and its proposal to reduce the doles was not in line with the current food prices.
The US had on Tuesday made an offer to reduce its overall trade distorting subsidy to 15 billion dollars.
“It is hardly an offer when their applied duty subsidy is seven billion dollars,” Nath told reporters.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister on Wednesday rejoined the crucial negotiations to break the Doha deadlock after his government won a confidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday.
“If there was a vote here we would win it too,” a happy Nath said.
He said the US offer is “not commensurate with current food prices”. Developed countries have to put something on the table and not “look into the pockets of the developing countries”, he said.
The US has been making a strong demand on the large and emerging economies like India, China, Brazil and South Africa to give their manufacturers market by reducing tariff in return for reduction in American farm subsidies.
Nath did not agree with the contention. “Tariffs are not distortions, subsidies are distortions. Tariffs protect trade and raise revenue,” he said.
