December 4, 2001
The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, today called for ``serious introspection'' over the fairness of the preparatory process for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference.
Speaking with ``pain and anguish,'' he said that any system which in the last minute forces many developing countries to accept texts in areas of crucial importance could not be a fair system.
He highlighted concern over the lack of transparency in the WTO at the concluding session of the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He pointed out that the manner of transmitting the earlier drafts of the Doha declaration from Geneva left a lot to be desired. Even at Doha, only a handful of members were asked to participate in the so-called Green Room. ``The remaining members virtually had no say,'' he said.
He disclosed that during non-stop negotiations at the conference, texts were appearing every without sufficient time to be examined by the delegations. ``Who prepared the avalanche of draft after draft? Why? We do not know.'' At the last minute, he said they produced a draft _ ``like a magician producing a rabbit out of his hat'' and said it was the final draft. The tactics seemed to be to produce a draft in the wee hours and force others to accept, he said.
Questioning whether this happened in any other international conference, Mr. Maran suggested there should be a new system at WTO. For instance, there should be a stipulation that during the conferences, no new text on any issue will be put for adoption without the delegations getting sufficient time to study the text and consult their polity. He felt the last minute draft would not contribute to the strength of the multilateral trading system, since the decisions were likely to affect the lives of billions of people all over the world.
Mr. Maran, however, assured that the government would actively participate in the consultations in the Doha development agenda. It would also consult stakeholders like trade and industry apart from other sections of society while carrying out negotiations, he said.
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