Vasu
Reddy From Chicago
The
abstaining of ratification of the WTO trade talks by Indian
government is not brazen nor against the global trade initiatives.
The new government under Narendra Modi simply said India and Indian
first, and then only they will ratify any agreements that leads to
betterment of trade options. The current government's involvement
with the agreement is limited as they just got into power at the
center and had little inputs into the agreements prior to its taking
office. Although power is handed from one government to the next is
seamless in India, the objectives of the government in power can be
distinctly different. The current government refraining from the
ratification of the WTO agreements with a simple objective of India
and Indians first is commendable. While it sounds absurd to hold off
on ratification of a WTO initiative that has just about every nation
on the band wagon, India holding off with the stated objective of
India's grain safety as the primary concern for it's holding off on
signing on to the global agreement.
The
rest of the developed world (the definition of developed is simply
industrialized) is raising alarm about India not signing up to the
WTO agreement, there is not a whole lot of opposition from Indians
and also several heavily populated nations. Was this an expected
argument by the USA and others who want India to sign up to the
agreement? The answer is perhaps yes, if the Congress lead
government came back into power for the third straight term in India.
The Modi lead government has not had a lot of time to make major
international advances and although its stated objectives in the
election manifesto are clear, the WTO agreement might not have been
high on its getting elected manifesto, and if today the Modi
government simply asks for more time to think about the implications
of signing up to a WTO agreement, and also states Indians first;
there is no doubt that the countrymen will have to agree and embrace
the objectives of such decision by the government.
For
the global audience the news simply will relay that Modi has decided
not to sign the WTO agreement, and this essentially kills the entire
effort of a trillion dollar agreement for countries that are under
the agreement. For whatever it is worth the trillion dollar deal
will typically benefit the developed nation, and the yet to develop
nations typically bear the brunt of the demand for dollars on their
economies.
The
abstaining of the agreement at this stage will disappoint the major
players, no doubt will leave the WTO itself in self doubt. Can they
do it without India, yes then can, but the size of India’s
population certainly matters to the rest of the world. They can
still go ahead and ratify the WTO agreement, and wait for India to
join them as India feels appropriate. There is definitely important
for the entire association of countries, including India to agree to
the current framework, and without India signing on to the agreement,
it falls apart.
Just
a couple of weeks ago BRICS countries agreement a bank with equal
partnership between the five nations. The formation of such bank
covers almost 2/3 of the global population and the interest of those
people. The immediate word from the rest of the countries outside of
BRICS nations was that the role of world bank essentially gets
eliminated with the formation of BRICS bank. Two basic issues to the
address on the formation of BRICS bank and possibility of elimination
of world bank or its role with developing nations.
- Formation of BRICS bank addresses the needs of the member countries and their specific developmental needs. The five countries essential with almost 2/3 of the global population will have direct and unbiased involvement with their own investment and development needs.
- World bank in current style of function serves as a conduit for developed nations with certainly specific agenda to push their aspirations and management in controlling the activities of the bank. The big brother syndrome exists in functioning of the world bank and the nations that controlling the funding and management certainly want the beneficiary countries to tow their line; politically and philosophically.
WTO
and World Bank were found with noble intentions of helping with trade
and banking to the needy and help developing countries compete and
trade efficiently and effectively with the rest of the world. Their
style of functioning and work across the world is commendable and has
yielded positive results to millions of people. While the original
intentions of both WTO and WB are noble and humanitarian, the
developed nations which contributed to the majority of funding to run
these organizations also continue to want to influence their agenda
on receiving nations. It is expected that the investments were being
made to open markets for their goods and services and also push
political agendas. From the 1900 through the two world wars, and the
communist rule, the formation of the WB and ATO along with UNO was a
well timed and well advised enterprise to handle the global situation
at the time and the needs of that time.
It
is perhaps the time to rethink about the global needs and how to
cater to the demands of a population that is exponentially larger and
the Geo political issues exponentially complex in today's world.
There will always be a need for maintaining peace, fostering trade
and lending a helping hand, it simply is time for rethinking how to
handle it. At the same time Modi's government taking the stance of
Indians first is also commendable.
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