The Cabinet Committee on WTO on Thursday gave the mandate to Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath for negotiating the criterion and mechanism for the World Trade Organisation draft framework to be discussed next month in Geneva with emphasis on protecting the country's food security.
Kamal Nath, who is scheduled to meet the G-20 and Non-Group-5 at Sao Paulo ahead of UNCTAD XI, said, "The Cabinet has given me the mandate to negotiate the criterion and mechanism for the draft framework to be discussed next month at WTO".
India and the WTO: News and Issues
The non-Group -5 includes India, Brazil, the US, the European Union and Australia.
He said the Cabinet emphasised that there would be no compromise on the country's food security, which would be guarded before giving any market access.
"We have to see that (our) agriculture, which is unique due to multi-climatic conditions and multi-products, having small farmers depending on it for livelihood, is guarded. We have to see they get not just the right price for their produce but more price and ensure there is no dumping," he said.
On methodology proposed to guard the country's farm sector, he said, "Provisions were being designed in the form of special products, special protection mechanisms and tariff rate quotas".
Kamal Nath emphasised that there was no question of "quid pro quo" and said the government did not have any problem about 100 products, which were not produced here but the concern was to guard those where India's sensitivities were concerned.
On Singapore issues, he said India was in favour of trade facilitation and transparency in procedures.