2. History:
• Launched at the fourth ministerial conference in
Doha, Qatar in November 2001.
• Succeeded the Uruguay round and the three
ministerial conferences at Singapore (1996), Geneva
(1998) and Seattle (1999).
Objectives:
• Lower trade barriers around the world.
• Committing all countries to negotiations opening
agricultural and manufacturing markets, as well as
trade-in-services (GATS) negotiations and expanded
intellectual property regulation (TRIPS).
• Make trade rules fairer for developing countries
3. KEY ISSUES AT DOHA
•Agriculture has become the linchpin of the agenda for both developing
and developed countries.
• Compulsory licensing of medicines and patent protection.
• A review of provisions giving special and differential treatment to
developing countries.
• Resolve problems that developing countries are having in implementing
current trade obligations.
• Key Interests for ASEAN countries –
Greater market access for industrial goods.
Trade facilitation.
Anti dumping and subsidies.
Technical Co-operation.
Effective dispute settlement mechanism
4. • The Doha Ministerial Declaration mandate for agriculture calls
for comprehensive negotiations aimed at substantial
improvements in market access, reduction of export subsidies.
• The Declaration also provides that special and different
treatment for developing countries would be an integral part of
all parts of negotiations.
• The Declaration took note of non-trade concerns reflected in
negotiations proposal of various member countries and
confirmed that they would be taken in to account in
negotiations.
MinisterIal DECLaRATION
5. • The Doha Declaration on public health sought to alleviate
developing countries dissatisfaction with aspects of the TRIPS
regime.
• The declaration committed member states to interpret and
implement the agreement to support public health and to
promote access to medicines for all.
Intellectual property declaration
6. Agriculture Issues in Developing Nations
• One of the key issues is the Agreement on
Agriculture (AoA).
• Areas related to Agriculture-Market Access,
Domestic Support, export Competition, Trade
Related Intellectual Property Rights .
• 40 to 50 % of support to the farmers in the form
of Green Box subsidies.
• Developed countries allowed to retain 80% of
their subsidies while developing countries can
subsidize their farmers not more than 10%.
• Increasing dependency on imports for food
grains could bring strain on external payment
position of these countries.
7. Types of Impasses of relevance at
DOHA round
• Parties could not agree to launch a negotiation.
(Impasse on initiation).
• Parties could not agree on the subjects for the
negotiation (Impasse on contents).
• After agreeing to start a negotiation the parties
take a long time to come to a mutually
agreeable outcome. (Impasse as delay).
• Having agreed to start a negotiation,
subsequently the parties appear unable to
conclude the negotiation with an agreement.
(Impasse as high expected failure to agree).
• Having agreed to start a negotiation,
subsequently the parties can only agree to
conclude the activity of negotiation without an
agreement.
(Impasse as actual failure to agree—fortunately
the DDA has not reached this point).
8. Unaddressed Issues
• In order not to discredit itself, globalization would have
to squarely address sustainable development and
poverty reduction .
• There must be an attempt to link the strategies of
development to something more fundamental, the
ends of economic and social development .
• The international trade rules are underpinned by an
insufficient appreciation of the adverse impact of rapid
liberalization, if it does not pay adequate attention to
the need to reduce asset and income inequalities.
• Without substantial investment in the capacity to
supply and, equally important, a guaranteed safety net
against falling prices and import surges, sudden
liberalization would expose the constituents to
unbearable risk.
9. Disadvantages for India
• TRIPs agreement went against the Indian Patents Act
(1970)
• Introduction of product patents in India lead to hike
in drug prices by the MNCs. Hence the poor were left
with no generic option
• Extension of intellectual property right to agriculture
has negative effects on India and Indian research
institutions
• Application of TRIMs agreement undermines any
plan or strategy of self reliant growth based on local
technology.
• Service sectors in India are backward compared to
the service sectors in developed countries. Hence
inclusion of trade in services is detrimental to the
interest of India.
• The MFN clause proved to be detrimental to India’s
interest & provided grounds for Chinese invasion in
Indian market through dumping.
