NEW DELHI: India criticized Canada for its stance against Indian farmers at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and said Canada was using the issue of farmers’ protests for political expediency.
Sources noted that Canada is one of the loudest critics of India’s Minimum Livelihood Price (MSP) and other agricultural policies in the WTO, and often questions the national agricultural measures that are destined to provide food security and sustenance to the great agrarian population of the country.
Recent comments from the Canadian Prime Minister Justin trudeau Regarding the continued protests by farmers in India they are not only unjustified and misinformed but also at odds with Canada’s aggressive stance in the WTO towards India’s agricultural support to its farmers, ”said a source.
Developing countries, including India, have proposed to reform the WTO Agreement on Agriculture by removing existing distortions. One of the main demands has been the elimination of the most trade-distorting form of subsidy known as FBT-AMS subsidies, which are available to only 32 of the 164 WTO members. However, due to the opposition of the beneficiaries of the FBT-AMS rights, the WTO members have not been able to reach a consensus on the elimination of the existing imbalances in the AsA.
The source said that in a troubling development in recent years, there has been a narrative push from some WTO members (notably the Cairns Group, including Canada, as well as the United States and the European Union) attempting to blame global growth. levels of domestic support to agriculture that distort trade in large developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia.
Sources said that recent agricultural legislation enacted by India would have served to allay many of the concerns raised by Canada and other members regarding India’s agricultural policies.
“In view of this, it is surprising to note that Canada is making unwarranted statements supporting internal protests in India against these agricultural laws. The duplicity in the position taken by Canada in the World Trade Organization and the position recently expressed by its leaders is a clear indication that Canada is using this issue for reasons of political expediency, “said the source.
The sources said that the nature and content of the questions posed by Canada to India regarding India’s agricultural policies, and the narrative that it drives in the agricultural negotiations at the WTO, are proof of the fact that Canada has little interest in the genuine welfare of Indian farmers and agricultural producers. On the contrary, Canada, along with other agricultural exporters, is seeking to further restrict the political space available to countries like India to support their domestic farmers, in the interest of boosting their own potential exports to India, the sources noted.
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