India talks tough on WTO, but does not rule out deal

Article source
Reuters

Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Friday he will not compromise on food subsidies for the poor at a WTO meeting next week, but left open the possibility of an interim subsidy deal designed to salvage a trillion-dollar trade pact.

India is seen holding the key to the credibility of the World Trade Organization talks and to a global trade deal at the meeting in Bali next week.

India will next year fully implement a welfare programme to give cheap food to 800 million people that it fears will contravene WTO rules that limit farm subsidies to 10 percent of production.

The programme relies on large-scale stockpiling and procurement at minimum prices and is a central plank of the government's bid to win a third term in office next year.

India has demanded that poor countries be exempt from the rule and the issue has threatened to derail the Bali talks after diplomats failed to agree on a compromise last week.

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