New team to grapple with complex trade talks at WTO

With just over 100 days to go for the crucial ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, the commerce department finds itself with a new set of negotiators to grapple with the complex talks. 

In addition, several tricky bilateral deals are in the pipeline with negotiations for the high stakes Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the free trade agreements with Australia and Canada entering critical phase Stock Market Trading Tips

Around 60 days ago, Rita A Teaotia took over as the new commerce secretary, replacing Rajeev Kher whose nine-year stint in the trade department ended on his superannuation. On Friday, the government moved J S Deepak to the department of IT as the new secretary on promotion. Deepak dealt with multilateral talks and was a crucial link in India renegotiating the deal on farm subsidies in return for a WTO agreement on trade facilitation. He also led the dialogue on bilateral trade agreements and was a key trade strategist in the government. 

Similarly, JS Dadoo, who was dealing with the proposed trade agreement with Australia has been replaced by Arvind Mehta, an old commerce department hand, who now has to deal with the pressure from Down Under to free trade in farm and dairy products. Among the senior members of the trade policy division that deals with WTO issues, Sudhanshu Pandey will be the sole survivor from the Bali ministerial meeting when the Indian team lands for talks in Nairobi in December Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Officials reckon the changes, which are routine, necessitate the need for a core team of negotiators to be in place so that India's trade interests are adequately pursued. While there is a lot of focus on a bloated bureaucracy, when it comes to crucial areas such as trade talks, the government has followed an HR policy that goes back to the days of GATT (WTO's predecessor), they said. Officials have often complained of not only the team being severely short-staffed but also inexperienced. "By the time you learn the ropes, it's time to move on to the next assignment," complained a former trade negotiator Indian stock market astrology prediction