Pakistan backs call for cut in tariff: Joins 21-nation group
By Mubarak Zeb Khan
ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: Pakistan has joined hands with what is called the club of 21 developing countries at Cancun and added its voice to the call for special and differential treatment (S&DT), reduction in subsidies and blend formula approach for tariff reduction on agriculture products by the developed countries.
Well-placed sources in the commerce ministry told Dawn that the decision was taken following the club’s decision to provide an option separate from that of the United States and the European Union (EU) framework for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to consider at the Cancun ministerial conference which began on Wednesday.
The 21 developing countries came up with their own versions of a framework for negotiations on agriculture at Cancun as counterproposal to one championed by the US and the EU so that there was a potential in Cancun on a convergence between the two other papers.
They further said that reforms in all areas of the negotiations are inter-related and the S&DT for developing countries would be an integral part of the negotiations. They asked to discontinue the special agriculture safeguard (SSG) for developed countries.
They also demanded that all developed countries should provide duty-free access to all tropical products and others mentioned in the preamble of the agreement on the agriculture.
The joint proposal was moved by Brazil, India, China, Cuba, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, South Africa and Venezuela.
The framework proposal submitted by these countries for the agriculture section of the draft ministerial declaration at Cancun, a copy of which was made available to Dawn here, covers all main areas of the agriculture talks, and contains the elimination of export subsidies, with an earlier deadline for products of interest to developing countries than for other commodities.
On market access, it suggests a formula for tariff cuts that will force developed countries to do more than developing countries.
It has also been demanded that for rural development and food security, developing countries should benefit from S&DT, including lower tariff reductions and longer implementation periods as well as from the establishment of special products category. There should be special safeguard mechanism for use of developing countries to protect certain items, the club further said.
According to the paper, on domestic subsidies, the club countries demanded for the elimination of the domestic support provided by the developed countries.
Specifically, they called for a cap on direct payments to producers such as crop insurance and disaster assistance.
The paper included the concept of a “blended” formula for reducing tariffs that was also contained in the US-EU framework.
For developing countries, the paper envisions a fixed formula reduction for one category of tariffs on sensitive products, with a Swiss harmonising formula used on a second category and tariff elimination for a third category.
