Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead the Indian delegation at the 12th WTO ministerial conference which is all set to begin tomorrow in Geneva after a gap of almost five years.

The key areas of discussions and negotiations at this year’s conference include WTO’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fisheries subsidies negotiations, Agriculture issues including Public Stockholding for Food Security, WTO Reforms and Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmission.

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.

In the agriculture sector, in May 2022, the DG-WTO brought three draft texts on agriculture, trade and food security and exemption of the World Food Programme from export restrictions for negotiations. India has reservations about some of the provisions in the draft decisions and has been engaging in the process of discussions and negotiations in order to be able to preserve the rights under the Agreement on Agriculture without undermining the existing Ministerial mandates.

An important issue under negotiation at the WTO relates to the protection of India’s food grain procurement programme at the Minimum Support Prices (MSP). Such programmes involve purchases from farmers at administered prices and are key to supporting farmers and consumers in the country.

WTO rules limit the subsidy that can be provided to such products being procured. This issue is being negotiated at the WTO by the G-33, a coalition of developing countries of which India is a key member and the African Group which has come together along with the ACP group in submitting a proposal on a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes on 31 May 2022. India co-sponsored a G-33 proposal for a permanent solution on PSH for food security purposes at the WTO, on 15 September 2021, which had the co-sponsorship of 38 members.

In the 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.

Another issue under discussion relates to additional disciplines on export restrictions on agricultural products.