Events

20 Aug 2005|Noida |

Workshop on “TRADE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN WTO: A ROADMAP FOR HONG KONG MINISTERIAL”

Amity Centre on World Trade Organisation (ACWTO) organized a One-Day National Workshop on “TRADE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN WTO: A ROADMAP FOR HONG KONG MINISTERIAL” . Prof. J.K. Mittal, Director, AIGLER, welcomed all the participants, dignitaries and eminent speakers. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Shri. AR Antulay, Member of Parliament, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare.

Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President-, RBEF, in his inaugural address remarked, “In an era of globalization, it is imperative to understand the World Trade Laws. Trade contributes to the all round development and is not just a profit making activity. However, the execution of trade should be such that whatever loss is caused to nature it is replenished on an immediate basis”.

Shri. Antulay commented that, “India should play a leading role in negotiations at WTO and safeguard the interests of developing countries”. He also pointed out that the Western Nations are the greatest polluters and unreasonably waive the stick of environmental standards at developing countries. Therefore, the Commerce and Environment Ministries should take joint action to negotiate on the trade and environment issues in the forthcoming Hong Kong Ministerial.

In the first business session, Dr. Archna Negi, Asst. Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, presented an overview of the trade and environment debate in the WTO. Mr. James Nedumpara, Trade Officer, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) traced the role of UNCTAD in the trade and environment issue and the possible implications for developing countries. Mr. Sunil Kumar Agarwal, Research Scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University presented a legal analysis of ‘Trade Related Environmental Measures in the Multilateral Environmental Agreements’.

The second business session saw Prof. PK Chaubey, Project Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, making a brief presentation on ‘Trade and Environmental Issues: Indian Scenario’ and Mr. Prabhash Ranjan from Centre for Trade and Development emphasizing on the importance of intellectual property rights and the trade related measures in the Indian context.

In the third business session, Prof. Ajit Verma, Director, Amity Institute of Microbial and Herbal Studies, presented a scientific study on microbes, their trade and environment related importance and their implications for developing countries. Ms. Nupur Chowdhary, Research Associate, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) presented a paper on ‘Environment Project Approach: Addressing Developing Country Issues and Concerns in Environment Goods and Services Negotiations’, in which she comprehensively dealt with the Paragraph 31 (iii) of the Doha mandate. Mr. Debashis Chakraborthy, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi, made a study on the impact of environmental measures on India’s market access: A case study of Leather Industry.

In the valedictory session, Dr. V.K. Agarwal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and Solicitor, England and Wales, Former Law Secretary, Government of India elucidated the specific problems of trade and environment in the developed and developing countries. He also significantly analyzed the Indian industries’ position after the imposition of environmental measures by the developed countries. All the members corroborated that Indian Government should present the developing countries viewpoint in the Hong Kong Ministerial.