New Delhi: The crucial World Trade Organisation (WTO) farm negotiations are beginning tomorrow (Mar 22, 2004) in Geneva, with both developed and developing nations showing some flexibility in restarting stalled trade talks.

The five-day meeting of the Committee of Agriculture, which will be attended by senior trade officials from 148 countries is important, considering the fact that it were agriculture issues on which the developed and the developing countries took tough postures at Cancun ministerial meeting, leading to the collapse of trade talks.

Since the breakdown of talks, United States and European Union (EU) have shown flexibility on contentious issue of phased elimination of export subsidies.

The US has expressed interest in readying a Framework for Agriculture to restart negotiations. The US Trade Representative has toured several important countries including India to garner support for the framework.

A successful meeting of the Committee in Geneva could pave the way for a General Council meeting in June-July.

India will press for adequate safeguards to protect the livelihood concerns of its 650 million farmers besides food security of the poor.

The proposed framework is expected to be readied by June, which would be a kind of a skeletal arrangement carved out from the drafts like US-EU and G-20 without indicating definite numbers.

But the response of India and other developing countries depends on how far the developed countries go in providing market access by reducing subsidies.

Developing countries have maintained that their response would depend upon what was being offered on the table, official sources said.

G-20 is pressing for a firm date with regard to export subsidies phase-out in the framework itself.

The grouping, which includes India, China, Brazil and South Africa, has not found palatable the EU suggestion of giving a list of products for subsidies phase-out.

Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative, had met key officials including Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim for restarting the trade talks. Several countries have expressed their willingness to move forward.

India also wanted the framework to include services and non-agriculture market access.

The country will be represented by Special Secretary S N Menon and Ambassador K M Chandrashekhar at the negotiations.