The WTO director-general, Mr Pascal Lamy, today urged India to show flexibility in its stance that trade facilitation should not be de-linked from other developmental aspects of the Doha Round.
In a special address on ‘WTO and Multilateral Trading System: The Way Forward to Bali Ministerial’, organised by Ficci and CUTS International, Mr Lamy said: “Improving trade facilitating related infrastructure and services such as border trade procedures and ease of transit of goods by way of simplified and speedy customs norms would increase the volume of international trade significantly and certainly not throw Indian farmers and taxi drivers on the streets.”
He said the multilateral, rule-based trading system would benefit greatly if the issues related to trade facilitation, regulations on agriculture and LDCs issues are agreed to at the Bali Ministerial meeting in December this year. A consensual agreement on these three issues could then be dovetailed into a working programme post-Bali to get close to a successful conclusion of the Doha Round.
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