Consider withdrawing from ‘exploitative’ WTO pacts: RSS affiliate urges

New Delhi: An organisation affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) urged India to withdraw from what it said ‘exploitative’ World Trade Organization agreements, Scroll reported.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch’s exhortation came in the wake of the United States imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries including India.

The US announced on April 2 a 26% ‘discounted’ levy on India taking effect on Wednesday.

Alongside levying a 10% minimum tariff on most imports taking effect on Saturday, the US made a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles effective on April 3.

Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, on Sunday termed Trump’s tariffs ‘unilateral’ violating World Trade Organization rules.

Mahajan, as reported by news agency PTI, said ‘Now that we are witnessing a complete disregard for the WTO, it is time to think afresh about the agreements on TRIPS [Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights], TRIMS [Trade-Related Investment Measures], services and agriculture in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT].’

Mahajan pointed out that TRIPS, which seeks to set minimum standard for intellectual property protection related to trade and innovation, incurred India ‘huge losses’ in royalty expenditure while adversely impacting the country’s public health.

Where India’s expenditure was less than a billion US dollars in the 1990s now its stands over $17 billion a year, Mahajan pointed out.

GATT, an international agreement signed in 1947 by 23 countries aiming to reduce trade barriers, was replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995.

Stressing that the World Trade Organization agreements are not good for India, Mahajan suggested ‘Bilateral agreements’ as an ideal option, adding that ‘Now the time has come that when developed countries like the US are completely disregarding the WTO [World Trade Organization], we should think of a strategy to come out of other exploitative agreements including TRIPS in the WTO.’

He called for strategizing India’s international trade to ‘take advantage of this situation’.