A think tank paper has recommended India to establish a new body of experienced trade negotiators with a designated trade representative within the ministry of commerce
As India prepares for renegotiations and new trade negotiations with complementary markets including the UK, US, and European Union, a think tank paper has recommended establishing a new body of experienced trade negotiators with a designated trade representative within the ministry of commerce.
Normally, India's trade negotiations are done by bureaucrats from the commerce ministry either through permanent representation in Geneva at the WTO or through a need-based swift move of other civil servants from relevant ministries, Ridhika Batra, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center and vice president of corporate affairs, Americas for the Mahindra group, said in a report on India-US trade relations released by the think tank.
Inadequate resources and skill set can lead to a situation where officers work reactively instead of proactively on trade deals, she said underscoring that historically, India has been notorious for leading negotiations on behalf of developing countries at WTO or at GATT.
Whether it was leading the developing nations during the Uruguay Round to resist the expansion of issues under trade in services like agreements on trade-related investment measures (TRIMS) and property rights (TRIPs), or during the Cancun Round to counter agricultural and farm subsidies for developed nations, India managed to stay in the limelight with half a dozen bureaucrats voicing the opinion of the developing markets.
There is not a dearth of talent in India, but an effort to mobilize a special unit of trade negotiators is required. A lateral movement of sector experts would bring in the necessary expertise, Batra said in the paper Looking Ahead: Strategies to Improve US-India Trade Negotiations', which is part of the report Reimagining the US-India Trade Relationship'.
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