India, US to co-chair WTO group

India and the US will co-chair a 14-member special group on services negotiations, a move aimed at giving a boost to World Trade Organisation talks in services ahead of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December.

The group will have Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, EU, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea as members, according to reports reaching from Paris.

The formation of the group was agreed at a meeting of trade ministers of the US, EU, Brazil and India in Paris. The meeting is being attended by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and commerce secretary S N Menon.

India, which has offensive interests in services due to its strengths, was keen on formation of such a group and this had been emphasised by Nath at recent meetings as the move would give the much-needed push to services negotiations.

It may be noted that not all 148 members of the WTO have interests in services negotiations. The formation of the group assumes significance in the on-going Doha round negotiations ahead of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.

Trade ministers and officials are meeting in Paris in a bid to break a deadlock in WTO talks that is threatening the Doha round of negotiations.