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Farmer unions demand scrapping of RCEP pact
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SME Times News Bureau | 14 Mar, 2019
About 40 farmer unions, led by
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), on Thursday demanded the government walk out
of the negotiations over the RCEP free trade agreement, saying it would
be disastrous for the domestic agriculture sector if the pact comes
through.
Any attack on the food sovereignty and farmers' rights will be met with resistance, they warned.
The
16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc that
includes India, China, Australia and ten ASEAN counties among others are
negotiating over issues related to goods, services, investments,
economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual
property rights.
Addressing a press conference, BKU general
secretary Yudhvir Singh said: "The RCEP will remove tariffs on 92 per
cent of traded commodities and open the floodgates to cheap imports,
destroying India's already stressed farm sector."
"Countries
like Australia are looking to dump their surplus produce like sugar,
wheat, and dairy, and permanently conquering India's massive markets
through RCEP is a huge aim for them," he said.
The unions
claimed that the RCEP will reverse the trend of India traditionally
being protectionist towards the farm sector and fundamentally shift
policy design towards corporate profits rather than livelihood of Indian
farmers.
B Nagendra of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha said: "RCEP
will manipulate our seed laws; it will strengthen the power of seed
companies and their patents while restricting farmers freedom to save
and exchange as they have done for centuries."
Vijay Jawandhia
of Kisan Sanghatan, Sellamuthu of Tamilaga Vivasaiyagl Sangham, C.K.
Janu of Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) are among the leaders who
addressed the conference.
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