India firm on only trade issues at WTO

Trade barriers should not be erected under the guise of sustainable development and there are different multilateral forums like in UN, where these issues can be discussed, said an official

New Delhi: India is maintaining its stand that issues like labour, and environment are non-trade issues and they should not be discussed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an official said on Wednesday.

The official said trade barriers should not be erected under the guise of sustainable development and there are different multilateral forums like in the United Nations (UN) where these issues can be discussed. The remarks assume significance as the trade ministers of 164 countries will gather at Abu Dhabi later this month to deliberate on issues such as agriculture.

Developed nations are pushing to start formal talks on these non-trade issues and they would try to push in this meeting. The 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) will be held from February 26-29 at Abu Dhabi, UAE. MC is the highest decision making body of the Geneva-based multilateral trade body.

“Issues like environment and labour are non-trade issues. These are non-negotiable at WTO. We are sticking to that stand. There are specialised bodies where these issues should be discussed. These are not trade issues, but it has a trade implication,” the official said.

Expressing concerns over the emerging trend of using environmental measures as protectionist non-tariff measures, India has also submitted a paper on this in the WTO in May last year. In that, the country has emphasised that there is an increase in the use of unilateral measures such as EU’s carbon tax and deforestation law which is impacting trade.