GROUP 12

World trade organization

EXIM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our greatest gratitude to the people who have helped & supported us throughout our project. We are grateful to our Professor Rahul Chopra for her continuous support for the project, from initial advice & contacts in the early stages of conceptual inception & through ongoing advice & encouragement to this day.

GROUP MEMBERS

y Deepti Pawar 67

y Tushar Pawar 68

y Pooja Ramesh 69

y Prayati Baxi 70

y Sana Quershi 71

y Manjiri Samel 72

INTRODUCTION:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing tr ade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive fro m previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (19861994). The organization is currently endeavoring to persist with a trade negotiation called the Doha Development Agenda (or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001 to enhance equitable participation of poorer countries which represent a majority of the world's population. However, the negotiation has been dogged by "disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk commodities and countries with large numbers of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a 'special safeguard measure' to protect farmers from surges in imports. At this time, the future of the Doha Round is uncertain." The WTO has 153 members, representing more than 97% of total world trade and 30 observers, most seeking membership. The WTO is governed by a ministerial conference, meeting every two years; a general council, which implements the conference's policy decisions and is responsible for day -to-day administration; and a director-general, who is appointed by the ministerial conference. The WTO 's headquarters is at the Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland.

HISTORY:
The WTO's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), was established after World War II in the wake of other new multilateral institutions dedicated to international economic cooperation notably the Bretton Woods institutions known as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A comparable international institution for trade, named the International Trade Organization was successfully negotiated. The ITO was to be a United Nations specialized agency and would address not only trade barriers but other issues indirectly related to trade, including employment, investment, restrictive busines s

practices, and commodity agreements. But the ITO treaty was not approved by the U.S. and a few other signatories and never went into effect. In the absence of an international organization for trade, the GATT would over the years "transform itself" into a de facto international organization.

GATT rounds of negotiations

The GATT rounds of negotiations:

GATT was the only multilateral instrument governing international trade from 1945 until the WTO was established in 1995. Despite attempts in the mid 1950s and 1960s to create some form of institutional mechanism for international trade, the GATT continued to operate for almost half a century as a semi -institutionalized multilateral treaty regime on a provisional basis.

Ministerial conferences:
The topmost decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years. It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. The inaugural ministerial conference was held in Singapore in 1996. Disagreements between largely developed and developing economies emerged during this conference over four issues initiated by this conference, which led to them being collectively referred to as the "Singapore issues". The second ministerial conference was held in Geneva in Switzerland. The third conference in Seattle, Washington ended in failure, with massive demonstrations and police and Natio nal Guard crowd control efforts drawing worldwide attention. The fourth ministerial conference was held in Doha in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. The Doha Development Round was launched at the conference. The conference also approved the joining of China, which became the 143rd member to join. The fifth ministerial conference was held in Cancn, Mexico, aiming at forging agreement on the Doha round. An alliance of 22 southern states, the G20 developing nations (led by India, China, Brazil, ASEAN led by the Philippines), resisted demands from the North for agreements on the so-called "Singapore issues" and called for an end to agricultural subsidies within the EU and the US. The talks broke down without progress. The sixth WTO ministerial conference was held in Hong Kong from 1318 December 2005. It was considered vital if the four -year-old Doha Development Agenda negotiations were to move forward sufficiently to conclude the round in 2006. In this meeting, countries agreed to phase out all their agricu ltural export

subsidies by the end of 2013, and terminate any cotton export subsidies by the end of 2006. Further concessions to developing countries included an agreement to introduce duty free, tariff free access for goods from the Least Developed Countr ies, following the Everything but Arms initiative of the European Union but with up to 3% of tariff lines exempted. Other major issues were left for further negotiation to be completed by the end of 2010. The WTO General Council, on 26 May 2009, agreed to hold a seventh WTO ministerial conference session in Geneva from 30 November-3 December 2009. A statement by chairman Amb. Mario Matus acknowledged that the prime purpose was to remedy a breach of protocol requiring two-yearly "regular" meetings, which had lapsed with the Doha Round failure in 2005, and that the "scaled -down" meeting would not be a negotiating session, but "emphasis will be on transparency and open discussion rather than on small group processes and informal negotiating structures". The g eneral theme for discussion was "The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment"

MEMBERS Albania 8 September 2000 Angola 23 November 1996 Antigua and Barbuda 1 January 1995 Argentina 1 January 1995 Australia 1 January 1995 Austria 1 January 1995 Bahrain 1 January 1995 Bangladesh 1 January 1995 Barbados 1 January 1995 Belgium 1 January 1995 Belize 1 January 1995 Benin 22 February 1996 Bolivia 12 September 1995 Botswana 31 May 1995 Brazil 1 January 1995 Brunei Darussalam 1 January 1995 Bulgaria 1 December 1996 Burkina Faso 3 June 1995 Burundi 23 July 1995 Cameroon 13 December 1995 Canada 1 January 1995 Central African Republic 31 May 1995 Chad 19 October 1996 Chile 1 January 1995 Colombia 30 April 1995 Congo 27 March 1997 Costa Rica 1 January 1995 Cte d'Ivoire 1 January 1995 Cuba 20 April 1995 Cyprus 30 July 1995 Czech Republic 1 January 1995 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1 January 1997 Denmark 1 January 1995 Djibouti 31 May 1995 Dominica 1 January 1995

Dominican Republic 9 March 1995 Ecuador 21 January 1996 Egypt 30 June 1995 El Salvador 7 May 1995 Estonia 13 November 1999 European Communities 1 January 1995 Fiji 14 January 1996 Finland 1 January 1995 France 1 January 1995 Gabon 1 January 1995 The Gambia 23 October 1996 Georgia 14 June 2000 Germany 1 January 1995 Ghana 1 January 1995 Greece 1 January 1995 Grenada 22 February 1996 Guatemala 21 July 1995 Guinea Bissau 31 May 1995 Guinea 25 October 1995 Guyana 1 January 1995 Haiti 30 January 1996 Honduras 1 January 1995 Hong Kong, China 1 January 1995 Hungary 1 January 1995 Iceland 1 January 1995 India 1 January 1995 Indonesia 1 January 1995 Ireland 1 January 1995 Israel 21 April 1995 Italy 1 January 1995 Jamaica 9 March 1995 Jordan 11 April 2000 Japan 1 January 1995 Kenya 1 January 1995 Korea, Republic of 1 January 1995 Kuwait 1 January 1995

The Kyrgyz Republic 20 December 1998 Latvia 10 February 1999 Lesotho 31 May 1995 Liechtenstein 1 September 1995 Luxembourg 1 January 1995 Macau, China 1 January 1995 Madagascar 17 November 1995 Malawi 31 May 1995 Malaysia 1 January 1995 Maldives 31 May 1995 Mali 31 May 1995 Malta 1 January 1995 Mauritania 31 May 1995 Mauritius 1 January 1995 Mexico 1 January 1995 Mongolia 29 January 1997 Morocco 1 January 1995 Mozambique 26 August 1995 Myanmar 1 January 1995 Namibia 1 January 1995 Netherlands - For the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands Antilles 1 January 1995 New Zealand 1 January 1995 Nicaragua 3 September 1995 Niger 13 December 1996 Nigeria 1 January 1995 Norway 1 January 1995 Oman, Sultanate of 10 October 2000 New member Pakistan 1 January 1995 Panama 6 September 1997 Papua New Guinea 9 June 1996 Paraguay 1 January 1995 Peru 1 January 1995 Philippines 1 January 1995 Poland 1 July 1995 Portugal 1 January 1995

Qatar 13 January 1996 Romania 1 January 1995 Rwanda 22 May 1996 Saint Kitts and Nevis 21 February 1996 Saint Lucia 1 January 1995 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines 1 January 1995 Senegal 1 January 1995 Sierra Leone 23 July 1995 Singapore 1 January 1995 Slovak Republic 1 January 1995 Slovenia 30 July 1995 Solomon Islands 26 July 1996 South Africa 1 January 1995 Spain 1 January 1995 Sri Lanka 1 January 1995 Suriname 1 January 1995 Swaziland 1 January 1995 Sweden 1 January 1995 Switzerland 1 July 1995 Tanzania 1 January 1995 Thailand 1 January 1995 Togo 31 May 1995 Trinidad and Tobago 1 March 1995 Tunisia 29 March 1995 Turkey 26 March 1995 Uganda 1 January 1995 United Arab Emirates 10 April 1996 United Kingdom 1 January 1995 United States 1 January 1995 Uruguay 1 January 1995 Venezuela 1 January 1995 Zambia 1 January 1995 Zimbabwe 5 March 1995

Organizational structure

The General Council has multiple bodies which oversee committees in different areas, re the following:
Council for Trade in Goods

There are 11 committees under the jurisdiction of the Goods Council each with a specific task. All members of the WTO participate in the committees. The Textiles Monitoring Body is separate from the other committees but still under the jurisdiction of Goods Council. The body has its own chairman and only 10 members. The body also has several groups relating to textiles.
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Information on intellectual property in the WTO, news and official records of t he activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of the WTOs work with other international organizations in the field.
Council for Trade in Services

The Council for Trade in Services operates under the guidance of the General Council and is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It is open to all WTO members, and can create subsidiary bodies as required.
Trade Negotiations Committee

The Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) is the committee that deals with the current trade talks round. The chair is WTOs director -general. The committee is currently tasked with the Doha Development Round. The Service Council has three subsidiary bodies: financial services, domestic regulations, GATS rules and specific commitments. The General council has several different committees, working groups, and working parties . There are committees on the following: Trade and Environment; Trade and Development (Subcommittee on Least-Developed Countries); Regional Trade Agreements; Balance of Payments Restrictions; and Budget, Finance and Administration. There are working parties on the following: Accession. There are working groups on the following: Trade, debt and finance; and Trade and technology transfer.

Voting system The WTO operates on a one country, one vote system, but actual votes have never been taken. Decision making is generally by consensus, and relative market size is the primary source of bargaining power. The advantage of consensus decision making is that it encourages efforts to find the most widely acceptable decision. Main disadvantages include large time requirements and many rounds of negotiation to develop a consensus decision, and the tendency for final agreements to use ambiguous language on contentious points that makes future interpretation of treaties difficult. In reality, WTO negotiations proceed not by consensus of all members, but by a process of informal negotiations between small grou ps of countries. Such negotiations are often called "Green Room" negotiations (after the colour of the WTO Director-General's Office in Geneva), or "Mini-Ministerial", when they occur in other countries. These processes have been regularly criticised by ma ny of the WTO's developing country members which are often totally excluded from the negotiations. Richard Harold Steinberg (2002) argues that although the WT O's consensus governance model provides law -based initial bargaining, trading rounds close through power-based bargaining favouring Europe and the U.S., and may not lead to Pareto improvement.

Principles of the trading system The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies; it does not define or specify outcomes. That is, it is concerned with setting the rules of the trade policy games. Five principles are of particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994 GATT and the WTO: 1. Non-Discrimination. It has two major components: the most favoured nation (MFN) rule, and the national treatment policy. Both are embedded in the main WTO rules on goods, services, and intellectual property, but their precise scope and nature differ across these areas. The MFN rule requires that a WTO member must apply the same conditions on all trade with other WTO members, i.e. a WTO member has to grant the most favourable conditions under which it allows trade in a certain product type to all other WTO members. "Grant someone a special favour and you have to do the same for all other WTO members." National treatment means that imported goods should be treated no less favourably than domestically produced goods (at least after the foreign goods have entered the market) and was introduced to tackle non-tariff barriers to trade (e.g. technical standards, security standards et al. discriminating against imported goods). 2. Reciprocity. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free-riding that may arise because of the MFN rule, and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. A related point is that for a nation to negotiate, it is necessary that the gain from doing so be greater than the gain available from unilateral liberalization; reciprocal concessions intend to ensure that such gains will materialise. 3. Binding and enforceable commitments. The tariff commitments made by WTO members in a multilateral trade negotiation and on accession are enumerated in a schedule (list) of concessions. These schedules establish "ceiling bindings": a country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. If satisfaction is not obtained, the complaining country may invoke the WTO dispute settlement procedures. 4. Transparency. The WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations, to maintain institutions allowing for the review of administrative decisions affecting trade, to respond to requests for information by other members, and to notify changes in trade policies to the WTO. These internal transparency requirements are supplemented and facilitated by periodic country-specific reports (trade policy reviews) through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM). The WTO system tries also to improve predictability and stability, discouraging the use of quotas and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports. 5. Safety valves. In specific circumstances, governments are able to restrict trade. There are three types of provisions in this direction: articles allowing for the use of trade measures to attain noneconomic objectives; articles aimed at ensuring "fair competition"; and provisions permitting intervention in trade for economic reasons. Exceptions to the MFN principle also allow for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas and customs unions.

Some of the important objectives of WTO are:

y

Trade negotiations

The WTO agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property. They spell out the principles of liberalization, and the permitted exceptions. They include individual countries commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets. They set procedures for settling disputes. These agreements are not static; they are renegotiated from time to time and new agreements can be added to the package. Many are now being negotiated under the Doha Development Agenda, launched by WTO trade ministers in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.
y

Implementation and monitoring

WTO agreements require governments to make their trade policies transparent by notifying the WTO about laws in force and measures adopted. Various WTO councils and committees seek to ensure that these requirements are being followed and that WTO agreements are being properly implemented. All WTO members must undergo periodic scrutiny of their trade policies and practices, each review containing reports by the country concerned and the WTO Secretariat.
y

Dispute settlement

The WTO s procedure for resolving trade quarrels under the Dispute Settlement Understanding is vital for enforcing the rules and therefore for ensuring that trade flows smoothly. Countries bring disputes to the WTO if they think their rights under the agreements are being infringed. Judgements by specially appointed independent experts are based on interpretations of the agreements and individual countries commitments.
y

Building trade capacity

WTO agreements contain special provision for developing countries, including longer time periods to implement agreements and commitments, measures to increase their trading opportunities, and support to help them build their trade capacity, to handle disputes and to implement technical standards. The WTO organizes hundreds of technical cooperation missions to developing countries annually. It also holds numerous courses each year in Geneva for government officials. Aid for Trade aims to help developing countries develop the skills and infrastructure needed to expand their trade.
y

Outreach

The WTO maintains regular dialogue with non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, other international organizations, the media and the general public on various aspects of the WTO and the ongoing Doha negotiations, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and increasing awareness of WTO activities.

Some other key objectives are:

y y y y y

To set and enforce rules for international trade To provide a forum for negotiating and monitoring further trade liberalisation. To resolve trade disputes. To increase the transparency of decision making processes. To cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic management. To help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system.

FUNTIONS OF WTO
1. Administration of agreements: It looks after the administration of various agreements, plus a number of other agreements, entered into after the Uruguay Round. 2. Implementation of reduction of trade barriers: It checks the implementation of the tariff cuts and reduction of non -tariff measures agreed upon by the member nations at the conclusion of the Uruguay round. 3. Examination of members trade policies: It regularly examines the foreign trade policies of the member nation, to see that such policies are in line with WTO s guidelines. 4. Collection of foreign trade information: It collects information in respects of exports-imports trade, various trade measures and other trade statistics of member nations. 5. Settlements of disputes: It provides conciliation mechanism for arriving at an amicable solution to trade conflicts among member nations. The WTO Disputes Settlements Body settles the trade disputes that cannot be solved through bilateral talks between member nations. 6. Consultancy services: It keeps a watch on the developments in the world economy and it provides consultancy services to its member nations. 7. Forum for negations: WTO is a forum where member nations continuously negotiate the exchange of trade concessions. The member nations also discuss trade restrictions in areas of goods, services, intellectual property, etc. 8. Assistance of IMF and IBRD: It assists IMF and IBRD for establishing coherence in universal economic policy administration.

IMPACT OF WTO ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The WTO system combines reciprocal market access negotiation of market access with rules on nondiscrimination in trade - the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle. That is, market liberalization agreed between any two WTO members is extended to all members of the WTO. For developing countries, one of the most important recent achievements of the WTO has been the strengthening of this multilateral framework of rules and agreements and their extension into new areas. WTO rules have been tightened on the use of measures that often target the exports of developing countries, including those on
  

subsidies countervailing and anti-dumping duties safeguard measures.

The application of the WTO rules in merchandise sectors such as textiles and apparel and in agriculture - which are very important in developing country trade - has been strengthened and improved. WTO disciplines now also cover sectors such as trade in services and trade incorporating intellectual property. As developing countries expand their imports and exports in these sectors, the new rules will help to ensure that these countries extract the greatest benefit from international trade. All these rules are only effective, however, if there is an efficient and fair means to settle disputes in case of a breach of obligations. The WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding provides such a framework. Developing countries are now making frequent use of the dispute settlement mechanism, bringing cases against developed and developing country members. Most developing countries have relied, from time to time, on special preferential access to developed country markets under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). These nonreciprocal trade preferences sometimes offered developing countries substantially better access to developed country markets than was available under bound MFN tariff rates. But the preferences - which were not bound because they were granted unilaterally - were not secure rights and were, in any case, eroded over time as MFN tariff rates were reduced. Offers by developing countries in the Uruguay Round to bind their tariffs have secured for them improved MFN terms of market access on a contractual - and therefore enforceable and predictable - basis. Developing countries have never had a decisive role in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) system; but their weakness may be much more damaging now than ever before, because of three newly emerging features. First, the WTO is increasingly spreading its coverage to new areas. Second, the impact of the agreements of the WTO and their operation is much wider and deeper for the economies of countries, particularly the developing countries. Third and perhaps the most important, the economies of the developing countries are much more vulnerable at present than before because of their own weakness and also exposure to the uncertain external environment. the

WTO agreements have much wider implications for a country s economy. The new agreements in the areas of information technology goods and electronic commerce will have a significant impact on revenue resources, as will be explained later. And now there are pressures for inclusion of still further new areas, like the protection of investors rights, the social clause, etc., which will deepen and widen the impact of the activities in the WTO in a country. For example, the proposals on investment, if finally carried through, will have a profound impact on the balance-of-payments situation as well as on the sectoral and regional balance of investment in a country. With so much at stake, one would expect the developing countries to strengthen their capacity in respect of the negotiations in the WTO. Indeed, some of them are now better prepared. The concluding phase of the Uruguay Round did bring about some awarenessin a number of developing countries about the implications of the negotiations. In some of the developing countries, one noticed even large-scale national debates on the various issues. But even among the few developing countries that are better prepared now than before, the level of preparation falls far short of what is needed. And the vast range of the other developing countries have hardly made any preparation even at this stage. The WTO, where the developing countries comprise a very large number and the voting pattern is based on one country one vote, provides a good setting for the developing countries to be effective. They can in fact turn it into an institution to serve their interests and make it an example of an international or multilateral institution working for their benefit. But unfortunately they have not been able to take the initiative nor have they succeeded in defending themselves effectively in this institution. This exercise is aimed at exploring the reasons for the weak participation of the developing countries in the WTO, the ways of strengthening their participation and the need for effective backup support for this purpose. The work to be undertaken in the next few years may be divided into four categories, viz., (i) implementation of the WTO agreements, (ii) review of some provisions of the agreements, (iii) continuing negotiations in some areas and (iv)the work in some new areas.

INDIAS COMMITMENT TOWARDS WTO

India is committed to phased liberalization of trade and investment and progressive integration of its domestic economy with the world economy. Indias progress in fulfilling her commitment to the WTO can be explained as follows Quantitative Restrictions India had been maintaining QRs on imports on BoP grounds and had committed to the WTO that the QRs will be completely phased out by 2003. However, the United States had filed a case in the WTO dispute settlement body against these QRs in May 1997. The DSB had ruled against India and had found that Indias QRs on imports were not justified on BoP grounds. The DSP recommended that India should bring its imports regime in conformity with its commitment under the WTO agreement. Accordingly, quantitative restrictions on all imports were withdrawn on April 2001. Commitments related to industrial design and lay-out design of integrated circuits Under WTO agreements, the Government of India has committed to protect new industrial design and lay-put design of integrated circuit. The bill related with industrial design and lay-out design was cleared by parliament in December 1999 and bill related with industrial design has been introduced in Rajya Sabha on 20th Dec 1999. Trademarks A bill to amend the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 was passed by the parliament in December 1999 which amongst other things provides protection to Service Marks. Geographic Indications The GATT agreement contains a general obligation that parties shall provide the legal means for interested parties to prevent the use of any means in the designation or presentation of a good that indicates or suggests that the good in questions originates in a geographical area other than the true place of origin of the good. An Act on geographical indication was passed by the parliament in December 1999. Commitment under GATS Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), India has made commitment to WTO in

33 activities. The foreign service providers will be allowed to enter into these activities. Reduction of Tariff India has committed to WTO to reduce tariff on non-agricultural goods. The government has undertaken the phased reduction of tariff over the period March 1995 to 2005. In case of textiles, the reduction of tariff will be achieved over a period of 10yrs but India reserves the right to revert back duties to 1990 level, if certain conditions are not fulfilled according to agreement. Industrial designs According to the agreements independently created new industrial designs or original designs are to be protected. The Indian Design Act 1911 was reworked to suit to the requirements of the agreement and a bill in this regard was cleared by the Rajya Sabha in December 1999.

WTO AND INDIAN AGRICULTURE

Indias share in world trade is less than one per cent. The share of agriculture in Indias GDP was 18.5 per cent in 2006-07 and agricultural exports constituted only 10.2 per cent of the total export revenue. World Trade Organization and globalization of ht world economies held a promising future for Indian agricultural exports. However, the developed countries continue to offer very high rates of subsidies and follow other trade distorting practices to the disadvantage of countries like India. There has been no improvement in the market access for developing countries and as a result, the share of agricultural exports from India

fell from 19.1 per cent in 1995-96 to 10.2 per cent in 2005-06. India needs to protect Indian farmers and her bio-diversity from the greed of multinational corporations and foreign competition. In this connection, the Government of India needs to take steps in the following areas:

1. Absolute Reduction Countries

in

Subsidies

by

Developed

In order to create a level playing field in agricultural trade, India must apply its pressure on the WTO to reduce the total agricultural subsidies in absolute terms and not relative terms. Developing countries like India must bargain for the right to impose protective tariff to the extent of domestic support differential.

2. Food Self Sufficiency should be maintained in the face of Globalization A natural consequence of globalization of agriculture is specialization of agricultural products. Specialization in the Indian context will compromise on the availability of good grains in India. Food grains are the main source of livelihood for a vast majority of Indians both in the rural and urban areas. Increased food prices as a result of globalization would push a large number of people living on the margin of poverty to below poverty line levels. Hence food self sufficiency

should be pursued as a desirable objective and not sacrificed as the altar of globalization.

3. Protection from fluctuations in World Food Prices World market prices of food grains are subject to heavy fluctuations than domestic prices. Globalization of agriculture will lead to fluctuations in the domestic prices and farm incomes. The government must take necessary steps to protect farm incomes from price volatility and possible dumping of agricultural goods.

1. Documentation of Biodiversity and Obtaining Patent

Protection Indias biodiversity has both width and depth. In the age of Globalization, Indias biodiversity has assumed huge commercial importance. There is therefore every chance that multinational corporation may thieve on Indian bio diversity and call it their own by obtaining

patent protection. The cases of Haldi, Neem, and Basmati are pertinent in this context for instance, Haldi was sought to be patented under the American law in 1995. Basmati rice was patented as Kasmati and Texmati. Efforts were made to patent Tulsi (Basil). There are some of the cases of bio piracy of Indias natural wealth and obtain patent patent protection. DR. RA Mashelkar, the Director General of council of Scientific and industrial Research challenged by patenting of Haldi and the US patent office had cancelled the patent given to Haldi.

Cases

United States Products

Rules of Origin for Textiles and Apparel

Key facts
Short title: Complainant: Respondent: Third Parties:

US Textiles Rules of Origin India United States of America Bangladesh; China; European Union; Pakistan; Philippines Rules of Origin: Art. 2 11 January 2002

Agreements cited:
(as cited in request for consultations)

Request for Consultationsreceived: Panel Reportcirculated:

20 June 2003

Complaint by India. On 11 January 2002, India requested consultations with the United States in respect of its rules of origin applicable to imports of textiles and apparel products as set out in Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Section 405 of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 and the customs regulations implementing these provisions. India argued that, prior to the abovementioned Section 334, the rule of origin applicable to textiles and apparel products was the substantial transformation rule. India considered that Section 334 changed the system by identifying specific processing operations which would confer origin to the various types of textiles and apparel products. In Indias view, these changes appear to have been made to protect the United States textiles and clothing industry from import competition. India indicated that the changes introduced by Section 334 had already been challenged by the European Communities on the grounds that they were incompatible with the United States obligations under the Agreement on Rules of Origin and other WTO Agreements (WT/DS151). India explained that that dispute was settled through a procs-verbal whereby the United States agreed to introduce legislation amending Section 334. According to India, the changes introduced by the amending legislation, i.e. Section 405, were aimed at taking account of the particular export interests of the European Communities. India is of the view that the changes introduced by Sections 334 and 405 have resulted in extraordinary complex rules under which the criteria that confer origin vary between similar products and processing operations. India argued that the structure of the changes, the circumstances under which they were adopted and their effect on the conditions of competit for ion

textiles and apparel products suggest that they serve trade policy purposes. On those grounds, India questioned the compatibility of those changes with paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of Article 2 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin. On 7 May 2002, India requested the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 22 May 2002, the DSB deferred the establishment of a panel.

Thank you