WTO member countries supporting TFA in services

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SME Times News Bureau | 25 Mar, 2017
A large number of WTO member countries are supporting in principle India's proposal for negotiating a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services, a senior government official said on Friday.

Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Anup Wadhawan also said that India is pursuing this proposal in the WTO in a serious manner.

Without specifying the names of these countries, he said, "large number of countries have supported it in-principle." He was briefing the media after the conclusion of two-day workshop on TFS, reports media.

The two day workshop on Trade Facilitation in Services organised by the World Bank Group in partnership with the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry concluded in New Delhi on Friday.

The workshop provided an excellent platform to discuss the various issues related to facilitating trade in services among global experts from the World Bank, the WTO, OECD, academics from reputed research institutes, private sector, government officials, and industry representatives from India and abroad.

There was consensus on the imperative to facilitate trade in services.

On the way forward, the participants suggested some alternate approaches as against India's proposal to address trade facilitation in services through a consensus based standalone agreement on Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) as a services counterpart to the goods specific Trade Facilitation Agreement (the TFA), the ministry's release said.

While India's preference is to respond to the challenges confronting Trade in Services in a comprehensive manner, giving equal consideration to the various barriers impeding the full potential of trade in services, large number of participants welcome further thoughts and engagement on the various different approaches through which trade facilitation in services could be addressed, it added.

The ministry official, in a joint statement, said, "It was recognized that this workshop is being held at a very opportune time, when we are increasingly hearing protectionist voices from across the globe. In such critical times, institutions like the World Bank and business community have a special role to play in identifying and propagating fair and equitable practices for promoting free and fair trade."

"The open and free-wheeling deliberations at the workshop and the lessons emerging from it are valuable in taking forward the initiative to facilitate trade in services," he ahhed.