BJP asks government to stick to stand on trade talks

New Delhi, June 29 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party in parliament, Monday asked the government not to succumb to pressure from the developed world and change its stand on agriculture subsidies ahead of the mini trade talks to be held here later this year.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had Saturday said he hoped the mini-ministerial of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in New Delhi will lay out a clear roadmap for the Doha Round of negotiations that have been blocked for nearly a year.

'The BJP demands that the government should not buckle under pressure from the US regarding cutting down agriculture subsidy as it is important for 130 million agriculture households in particular and for the country in general,' said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar in an official statement here.

'India has taken a position which is based on national interest and has approval of all parties across the board as it is intended to protect the Indian farmers,' Javadekar added.

'There will be more pressure on India for changing its earlier stand regarding agriculture subsidies in WTO rounds, position on climate change, fissile material cut off treaty and CTBT (Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty) in days to come. These are all topics of national importance and BJP will watch government moves carefully,' he said.

'Arun Jaitley as commerce minister arrived at this consensus during NDA regime. Kamal Nath also carried the same position on the world platforms during his tenure.'

Maintaining that 'there is an effort to paint this stand as the roadblock in the WTO negotiations,' Javadekar said: 'Ironically, the US, which heavily subsidies its farmers, wants open access to the Indian market without providing a level playing field.'

This, the BJP said, was 'bound to make Indian farming uncompetitive'.

'The US provides subsidy to the tune of $8 billion and wants to raise it to $15 billion. The US position is and will be unacceptable,' the BJP spokesperson said.

'The Indian government seems to be dithering from its earlier unanimous position. If the government succumbs to these pressures, it will be permanent loss for Indian farmers. BJP warns the government to remain firm on its earlier position or else face the anger of the farmers.'

Regarding climate change and CTBT, Javadekar said the position across the political spectrum was 'unanimous'.

'Developed world does not approve Indian position of per capita emission and wants reduction in its emissions immediately without providing real finance and without committing its own reduction,' he added.