In a meeting last week with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Secretary General John Danilovich and Executive Director of ICC India Ashok Ummat, Indian Secretary of Commerce Rajeev Kher said that the Indian government was aware of the critical importance of the multilateral trading framework and on-going negotiations on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
Danilovich stressed that India’s ratification of the TFA was crucial to advancing multilateral trade negotiations. He said that if fully ratified, the agreement, along with other elements of the Bali package agreed to at the WTO ministerial meeting in December 2013, has a potential to inject $1 trillion into the global economy and create 21 million jobs, including 18 million in the developing world.
Leading an ICC delegation that included ICC India Vice President Sandip Somany and ICC India former president Sushil Jiwarajka, Danilovich also stressed the importance of TFA ratification during a meeting with the Indian Sherpa to the G20, Suresh Prabhu.
Prabhu reiterated that the Indian government did not object to the TFA but wanted the WTO to extend the peace clause until a concrete solution could be reached on food security and said that the Indian Ambassador was still talking with the WTO on this issue.
Staff contact: Rob Mulligan
