Multilateralism at Cross-roads: Reaffirming Development
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Anti dumping is not just a protectionist instrument but also an important tool to safeguard domestic industries from cheap imports especially in the wake of reduced tariffs and quota elimination, said Prof. B. S. Chimni, eminent legal expert and former Vice Chancellor of National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Prof Chimni was speaking here today on the second day of the South Asian Conference on Trade and Development organised by the Centre for Trade and Development (Centad). The two-day event was attended by over a hundred delegates from South Asian countries comprising trade experts from government, leading think tanks, civil society and media. Prabhash Ranjan of Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, of School of Oriental and African Studies, noted that India’s anti dumping practices were at variance from its proposal at the WTO and there was need for their reconciliation. Speaking on dispute settlements, Huma Fakhar, legal practitioner based at Karachi pointed out the practical constraints faced by South Asian countries in arguing disputes at the WTO. There was need for government-industry cooperation in both identifying and resolving the disputes, she said. Speaking on rules negotiations and South Asian interests, Dr C Satapathy, Member, Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Apellate Tribunal, Mumbai, and lead negotiator for India on Rules of Origin (ROO) for several years, argued for simplified, general and liberal ROO since the complex ROO framework militate against increasing trade flows. Highlighting the crises in agriculture, Linu Mathew Philip of Centad pointed out that research shows that while the value of South Asia agriculture exports has been increasing, the unit value of exports has been declining all across South Asian countries including India. He underlined the need to build trade safety nets before trade liberalization is ushered in by way of both regional and multilateral routes. Speaking in another session, Rishi Adhikari, project director, Rural Reconstruction Network, Nepal, said that aid for trade for LDCs has not been effective. Mustafizur Rahman, Research Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh, who chaired the session, remarked that money given under aid for trade should be “new money” and free from conditionalities. Earlier, while inaugurating the conference, G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary, Government of India, released Centad publications, Trade in Services and India: Prospects and Strategies and Executive Summary of the Second Edition of the South Asian Yearbook of trade and development. Other issues discussed at the conference included Special Economic Zones, the prospects for increasing services trade between South Asian countries and LDC concerns in RTAs. Chandrakant Patel of SEATINI, a leading think tank, delivered the Valedictory Address. For more information, contact: Parashar Kulkarni Research Officer Centre for Trade and Development (Centad) Mobile: 9899976112 Email: parashar.kulkarni@centad.org |
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