Workshop on Industrial Tariffs: WTO Negotiations,
September 19, 2001

 

WTO has taken up inclusion of industrial tariff and other market access as an item of agenda for future multilateral negotiations.  Some member countries of the WTO have submitted different suggestions relating to coverage, scope and modalities for negotiations on industrial tariffs. The implications of these proposals depend upon the extent of the reduction in the tariffs and the scope of the coverage of the goods. In this context, India has to do her intensive homework on various fronts. It has also to prepare balance sheet of the market access it will gain in the other countries in relation to the market access it will offer to other trading partners. A detailed analysis of industrial tariffs will enable us to prepare ourselves for negotiations in WTO.

The main objective of this workshop was to make interaction between academia and industry sector. A number of persons from industrial apex bodies/industry were present in this workshop. After a presentation on the topic by Dr Rajesh Mehta, a number of representatives of industrial bodies made very useful suggestions, and it led to a lively discussion on various aspects of industrial tariff negotiations