NDA govt adopted course correction in WTO Bali pact, says Nirmala

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the government has protected the interest of Indian farmers by ensuring correction in WTO's Bali agreement which was "imperfect".

Replying to clarifications on her statement in Rajya Sabha on "India's stand on WTO" made on November 28, the minister said India had made many friends in the process of the WTO talks and it is a total gain for the country.

Calling the Bali pact arrived at by the previous UPA government imperfect, she said the pact required a course correction, something the present dispensation has got down into doing since July. 

Asserting that the government had ensured India's sovereign right is strengthened, she said: "If there are corrections to be made in the process, we as a government, representing people of India, have a sovereign duty to do the course correction and ensure that our farmers or any such interests are kept intact and protected."

To the opposition charge that India had gone into WTO talks like 'Abhimanyu', she said: "I would like to tell you here in no uncertain terms that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi we have got in as an Abhimanyu but we came out successfully with 160 friends, building on our predecessor, who had 93 friends."

The minister said a new foreign trade policy (FTP) dealing with the country’s export and import is under consultation and finalisation.

Seeking clarifications on the minister's statement on WTO, opposition members said it was "confusing" and hoped India's interests and sovereignty would not be compromised on the signing of the trade agreement.

Members also sought to know if India had decided to go along with the US and in the bargain lost its friends among the group of developing nations, which India was leading.
Former commerce minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma accused the minister of "misleading" the House and the country and challenged her saying the work on de-linking negotiations on public stock holding for food subsidy purposes was arrived at Bali.