DOHA ROUND 2001 Presented By:-

Karun Mahajan05-MBA-IB-12

History:• Launched at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001.

• Succeeded the Uruguay round and the three ministerial conferences at Singapore (1996), Geneva (1998) and Seattle (1999).

Objectives:• Lower trade barriers around the world.

• Committing all countries to negotiations opening agricultural and manufacturing markets, as well as trade-in-services (GATS) negotiations and expanded intellectual property regulation (TRIPS).

• Make trade rules fairer for developing countries

KEY ISSUES AT DOHA

•Agriculture has become the linchpin of the agenda for both developing and developed countries.

• Compulsory licensing of medicines and patent protection.

• A review of provisions giving special and differential treatment to developing countries.

• Resolve problems that developing countries are having in implementing current trade obligations.

• Key Interests for ASEAN countries – Greater market access for industrial goods. Trade facilitation. Anti dumping and subsidies. Technical Co-operation. Effective dispute settlement mechanism

• The Doha Ministerial Declaration mandate for agriculture calls for comprehensive negotiations aimed at substantial improvements in market access, reduction of export subsidies.

• The Declaration also provides that special and different treatment for developing countries would be an integral part of all parts of negotiations.

• The Declaration took note of non-trade concerns reflected in negotiations proposal of various member countries and confirmed that they would be taken in to account in negotiations.

MinisterIal DECLaRATION

• The Doha Declaration on public health sought to alleviate developing countries dissatisfaction with aspects of the TRIPS regime.

• The declaration committed member states to interpret and implement the agreement to support public health and to promote access to medicines for all.

Intellectual property declaration

Agriculture Issues in Developing Nations

• One of the key issues is the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).

• Areas related to Agriculture-Market Access, Domestic Support, export Competition, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights .

• 40 to 50 % of support to the farmers in the form of Green Box subsidies.

• Developed countries allowed to retain 80% of their subsidies while developing countries can subsidize their farmers not more than 10%.

• Increasing dependency on imports for food grains could bring strain on external payment position of these countries.

Types of Impasses of relevance at DOHA round

• Parties could not agree to launch a negotiation. (Impasse on initiation).

• Parties could not agree on the subjects for the negotiation (Impasse on contents).

• After agreeing to start a negotiation the parties take a long time to come to a mutually agreeable outcome. (Impasse as delay).

• Having agreed to start a negotiation, subsequently the parties appear unable to conclude the negotiation with an agreement. (Impasse as high expected failure to agree).

• Having agreed to start a negotiation, subsequently the parties can only agree to conclude the activity of negotiation without an agreement.

(Impasse as actual failure to agree—fortunately the DDA has not reached this point).

Unaddressed Issues• In order not to discredit itself, globalization would have to

squarely address sustainable development and poverty reduction .

• There must be an attempt to link the strategies of development to something more fundamental, the ends of economic and social development .

• The international trade rules are underpinned by an insufficient appreciation of the adverse impact of rapid liberalization, if it does not pay adequate attention to the need to reduce asset and income inequalities.

• Without substantial investment in the capacity to supply and, equally important, a guaranteed safety net against falling prices and import surges, sudden liberalization would expose the constituents to unbearable risk.

Disadvantages for India

• TRIPs agreement went against the Indian Patents Act (1970)

• Introduction of product patents in India lead to hike in drug prices by the MNCs. Hence the poor were left with no generic option

• Extension of intellectual property right to agriculture has negative effects on India and Indian research institutions

• Application of TRIMs agreement undermines any plan or strategy of self reliant growth based on local technology.

• Service sectors in India are backward compared to the service sectors in developed countries. Hence inclusion of trade in services is detrimental to the interest of India.

• The MFN clause proved to be detrimental to India’s interest & provided grounds for Chinese invasion in Indian market through dumping.