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NEW DELHI: Departing from the government's tough line against the proposed multilateral agreement on investment (MAI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has argued that the issue should be used as a bargaining chip to obtain gains in other areas like agriculture and industrial tariffs.

The apex chamber also feels that India could still work with the European Union (EU) though sharp differences exist on MAI as well as competition policy.

The government has been maintaining that non-trade issues like the MAI should not even be taken up for discussion. The Doha declaration also stipulates that discussions on MAI could take place only if 'explicit' consensus among WTO members is obtained.

The Indian industry has been quietly supportive of the government's stand on keeping MAI out of WTO and CII's stand comes as the first departure from the oft-repeated position.

After a day-long discussion with representatives of the European Union (EU) here, CII's senior advisor on trade policy, TK Bhaumik, said India should evaluate the possibility of gains that could arise from engaging in negotiations on MAI.

« We should ask for real gains on the table. As of now, we do not see any gains, » he told ET.

« In any case we are liberalising our policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) on our own. Therefore, entering into discussions on MAI can be considered if tangible gains could be achieved by doing so, » he said. We are allowing access to foreign service providers under Mode 3 of GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) which permits commercial presence, the CII representative added.

While India has to be extra careful on investment, discussions on competition policy could also be considered. Both investment and competition policies are two sides of the same coin, Mr Bhaumik said.

« If we are not willing to consider MAI, then there is no need to look at competition policy, » Mr Bhaumik said. Among the Singapore issues, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation are not as controversial as compared to investment and competition policy.

India can work with the EU on issues like market access, review of WTO rules and TRIPS, Mr Bhaumik said. The EU understands India's concerns more than other members, in view of the heterogeneous pressure exerted by its members on key decision-making processes. Along with the US, a key role can be played by the EU and India in resolving various pending issues at Cancun.

Michel Caillouet, ambassador of the EU delegation to India, is also of the opinion that India and Europe can work together on several key issues. The EU has listed special and differential treatment for developing countries, implementation issues and geographical indications as important areas where the two WTO members can work together.

The EU also wants to enter into an understanding with India, before the Cancun meet, on issues like industrial tariffs, agriculture, Singapore issues and TRIPS.

Source The Economic Times
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=140117

How the European Commission tries to win over the Indian government on investment

Use Cancun meet as a bargaining platform, industry body tell govt G GANAPATHY SUBRAMANIAM TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2003 04:51:54 AM ]

Use Cancun meet as a bargaining platform, industry body tell govt
G GANAPATHY SUBRAMANIAM
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2003 04:51:54 AM ]