. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/17 
14 December 2005 
 (05-5942) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
INDIA 
 
Statement by HE Mr Kamal Nath
 
Minister of Commerce and Industry  
   I thank you, Mr Chairman, and the Govern ment and people of the Hong Kong Special 
Administrative Region, for the excellent arrangeme nts made for our work, and for your hospitality. 
 
 I would like to warmly welcome Saudi Arabia a nd Tonga, both valued friends of India, into 
the WTO fraternity.   We meet at Hong Kong with a mandate to fulfil the Development Agenda crafted at Doha.  Doha had aroused hope among milli ons of people of economic grow th and prosperity.  We are 
mandated to correct the ' development deficit ' bequeathed to us by the Uruguay Round.  Our 
negotiations here will have failed if they do not c ontribute towards creating a rules-based world order, 
which not only makes trade free, but also makes trade fair.   Development is not simply an adjunct to the gl obal trading system.  It is intrinsic to every 
aspect of this Round.  It concerns nothing less than ensuring access of the world's poor to basic 
material necessities, a decent quality of life commensur ate with human dignity.  To this end, and with 
this hope, we are Members of the World Trade Or ganization;  and this participation cannot be 
disruptive of the national development strategies of  developing countries.  Of course, our economies 
need the stimulus of external markets and technologies  for the transition to a higher growth trajectory.  
We de believe this and are committed to it.  But our problems and challenges are so manifold and our 
socio-economic contexts so diverse,  that no single, 'harmonized' development strategy can be adopted.  
Each country must choose the path that best suits its own genius.   Trade commitments which throw hundreds of millions of people already on the edge of 
subsistence into a chasm of poverty and unemploymen t simply cannot be supported.  The ambition of 
developed countries cannot and must not trample on the aspirations of four-fifths of humanity. 
  It is in agriculture that the structure of intern ational trade is the most distorted and it is here 
that the development outcome of Doha would be the mo st critically judged.  It is in agriculture again 
that many developing countries find a natural comparative advantage.  But they are shut out from 
world markets by a complex edifice of protection,  built on high tariff walls, domestic and export 
subsidies, and an intricate maze of non-tariff barriers.   In many developing countries, including India, 
hundreds of millions of low-income and subsiste nce farmers eke out a precarious livelihood from 
agriculture.  Unless the playing field is comple tely levelled, they cannot enter the arena of 
international competition.  Our farmers are quite wil ling to deal with trade flows – but not with an 
avalanche of subsidy flows from developed countries. 
 WT/MIN(05)/ST/17 
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  To secure and ensure the livelihood and food security of millions an appropriate number of 
Special Products and a Special Safeguard mechanis m which can be meaningfully and effectively 
applied is the bedrock of any agricultural outcome in this Round.   The small and medium enterprises in the developing world provide livelihood to hundreds of 
millions of industrial workers.  They need the el imination of tariff peaks and tariff escalations to 
obtain effective access into developed country mark ets.  It is no use having zero duty levels on 
aeroplanes, while maintaining a 30 per cent duty on l eather handbags!  Such traditional industries as 
textiles, clothing, leather products, footwear, and a range of other medium technology products have 
long faced barriers.  Their future growth would be blunted in the absence of new markets and 
technologies.  However, one NAMA proposal before us translates into a 75 per cent cut for 
developing countries as against a 25 per cent cut for developed countries.  Surely there is a mistake somewhere!   Market access is not governed by tariffs alone .  Exporters from developing countries face an 
impenetrable labyrinth of non-ta riff barriers.  These include the abuse of both anti-dumping measures 
and technical standards, often dealing with periphe ral matters and extraneous considerations.  If we 
are to pursue the so-called 'real' market access in  the NAMA negotiations, the boot is surely on the 
other foot.   Globalization means not only an accelerated global flow of goods, but also of services and 
ideas.  The youth in a number of developing countr ies have acquired globally valued skills in several 
professions.  The opportunity of productive employm ent to the educated youth in the burgeoning 
populations of developing countries would require th e development of robust services sectors in their 
economies.  Access into overseas markets is an es sential stimulus for this growth, and a powerful 
instrument to banish poverty.  This is why the liberalization of professional services trade in Modes 1 
and 4 needs to figure high on the development agenda .  It is also, of course, a paramount need of 
businesses everywhere in a globalized economy.  The services negotiations need a clear direction, without undermining the flexibilities available to developing countries under the GATS architecture. 
  On the unfinished agenda of development inhe rited from the Uruguay Round is the imbalance 
in the TRIPs Agreement between private IPRs and th e intellectual heritage of communities.  There is 
growing popular discontent among developing countr ies over bio-piracy and the misappropriation of 
their traditional knowledge for commercial gain.  Th e Hong Kong Ministerial must pave the way for 
the launch of negotiations on the issues pertaining to the relationship between the TRIPs Agreement 
and the Convention on Bio-Diversity.  
 A Development Round has no credibility in th e absence of substantial benefits for the 
weakest Members of the WTO.  The Hong Kong Mi nisterial needs to address the burning issues of 
cotton and of preference erosion.  We need to finalize the proposal for duty-free quota-free access for 
exports of LDCs to developed c ountry markets, without hedging.  Developing countries too are ready 
to play their part, according to their abilities.  India shall not be found wanting in this respect. 
 
 In the name of completion, if the content of this Round only perpetuates the inequities of 
global trade, then it will be no Round.   To redeem the pledge we made at Doha, let us resolve to make 
this a Round for those who need it.  Le us make  this a Round that truly reflects the development 
dimension in its most beneficial and most effective sense.  
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