NEW DELHI: "We expect India to take a proactive role in across the board negotiations and not only help to find common ground on the agriculture issues but also non-agriculture issues like services," said Dorothy Dwoskin, assistant U.S trade representative for WTO and multilateral affairs during a videoconferencing session organised by the American Centre here Tuesday. Presenting the U.S. perspective along with Shaun Donnelly, principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Dwoskin said the U.S. shared India's concerns on several issues including market access, agriculture reforms and also on issues relating to competition and investment. Stressing that Cancun was not a make or break meet but only a mid-point to the close of negotiations in 2005, Donnelly said it would be different from the Seattle and Doha meets where crucial decision in the negotiations had to be arrived at. "I don't think there is a North-South divide. There are areas where the U.S. shares the concerns of developing countries. I want to put the U.S. among countries that want agriculture reforms," said Donnelly. Agriculture is one of the areas where India has joined 17 other developing countries to present a common front to protect the rights of the farmers. These countries account for over 65 percent of the farming community globally.
Source: IANS