WTO’S BALI ROUND OF  DDA

(DOHA DEVLOPMENT AGENDA)

The WTO came into existence on 01-01-1995 replacing the 47 year old GATT (GENERAL AGREMENT ON TRADE AND TARIFF).  WTO is an international body. The agenda of the WTO is to develop multinational trade by reducing tariff’s across goods and services. They also aim at removing all the tariff barriers.

The DOHA developing round was called DDA started in 2001 and by the present BALI round it was in its 12^th year of existence.  

Since 2008 talks were on and on regarding many issues including agriculture subsidies.

India is launching a massive food security programme in 2014, which will feed 82crore people @Rs 5/kg .This required a large scale stock piling as well as minimum guaranteed purchase price. But the WTO rule says that farm subsidies cannot exceed 10% of the production .Though all the developed nations were opposing fearing that India may distort world food trade through exports of cheap trade.  After a lot of yes and no’s, US said yes for the next 4 years but the Indians were so eager that they refused the four year peace clause.

Finally thinking that the whole round may go down the drain, everyone agreed to give India a indefinite freedom. And we received a green flag for the food security bill.

Hence on the 6^th December Bali round was declared successful.

So, Indians thumps up hoping for the best that this allowance may bring another wave of development in India and help many people to find a better living.