Topic Of The Day:-“Crunch time at WTO: On farm subsidies”
As leaders at the World Trade Organisation’s 11th biennial Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires seek to define the future contours of multilateral global trade, the challenges the U.S. has mounted on the institution are impossible to ignore. Notable among the proposals trade ministers will consider are those relating to new rules on farm subsidies, the elimination of support for unsustainable fisheries, and the regulation of e-commerce. With the backing of more than 100 countries, a joint proposal from India and China to eliminate the most trade-distorting farm subsidies worth $160 billion in several industrialised economies is arguably the most contentious agenda item at the Ministerial. The two countries see this as a prerequisite to address the prevailing imbalance in the Agreement on Agriculture, which unfairly benefits developed countries. But host Argentina has cautioned that the joint proposal could potentially unravel negotiations. Lending credence to such scepticism is the lukewarm stance the U.S. has adopted towards the WTO over the past year, suggesting that the Ministerial meet should serve as a forum for reflection rather than to shape substantive agreements. The other major dispute centres on finding a so-called permanent solution to the large subsidies that underpin public stock-holding programmes to bolster food security in the developing world. The G-33 coalition — which includes Indonesia, China and India — seeks a complete exemption from commitments to reduce subsidies, such as minimum support prices, from this poverty-alleviation programme. New Delhi has declined to negotiate any more trade-offs on this proposal at Buenos Aires, or accept calls for stringent transparency requirements to monitor these schemes. The EU and Brazil have expressed broad support for the G-33 coalition’s position on public stock-holding programmes. But in return they seek agreement on their own proposal to reduce trade-distorting subsidies on a percentage basis, in both advanced and developing economies. The existential crisis facing the WTO is heightened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s combative approach to the multilateral institutional framework. Washington has been exploring an alternative, unilateral route away from the formal dispute resolution mechanism of the Geneva-based body to settle perceived and real trade conflicts with partners. It has blocked fresh appointments to fill vacancies on the seven-member WTO appellate body. The risk of Mr. Trump’s protectionist rhetoric translating into economic barriers remains real. The response to that challenge is to make the gains of globalisation more visible and its transient downsides politically less painful. Trade leaders gathered in Buenos Aires can ill-afford to lose sight of this imperative.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Contours
Meaning: An outline representing or bounding the shape or form of something.
Example: “she traced the contours of his face with her finger”
Synonyms: Outline, Shape
2) Trade-distorting
Meaning: Used to describe a tax or action that changes the normal characteristics of trade.
Example: Some experts believe that trade-distorting agricultural subsidies are partly responsible for increases in global food prices.
3) Contentious
Meaning: Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial.
Example: “a contentious issue”
Synonyms: Vexed, Debatable
4) Prerequisite
Meaning: Required as a prior condition.
Example: “the student must have the prerequisite skills”
Synonyms: Necessary, Required
Antonyms: Unnecessary, Non-essential
5) Unravel
Meaning: Investigate and solve or explain (something complicated or puzzling).
Example: “they were attempting to unravel the cause of death”
Synonyms: Solve, Resolve
Antonyms: Complicate
6) Credence
Meaning: Belief in or acceptance of something as true.
Example: “psychoanalysis finds little credence among laymen”
Synonyms: Acceptance, Belief
7) Scepticism
Meaning: A sceptical attitude; doubt as to the truth of something.
Example: “these claims were treated with scepticism”
Synonyms: Doubt, Distrust
Antonyms: Conviction, Belief
8) Lukewarm
Meaning: (of a person, attitude, or action) unenthusiastic.
Example: “Britain is lukewarm about the proposal”
Synonyms: Indifferent, Apathetic
Antonyms: Enthusiastic
9) Underpin
Meaning: Support, justify, or form the basis for.
Example: “the theme of honour underpinning the two books”
10) Combative
Meaning: Ready or eager to fight or argue.
Example: “he made some enemies with his combative style”
Synonyms: Aggressive, Bellicose
Antonyms: Conciliatory
11) Rhetoric
Meaning: Language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect, but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.
Example: “all we have from the Opposition is empty rhetoric”
Synonyms: Bombast, Bragging
12) Ill-afford
Meaning: If you cannot afford to do something, you must not do it because it would cause serious problems for you.
Example: He can ill afford to fail any of his exams.
Synonyms: Degrade, Decline
13) Imperative
Meaning: Of vital importance; crucial.
Example: “immediate action was imperative”
Synonyms: Crucial, Critical
Antonyms: Unimportant, Optional
