[Ip-health] Alert: Indian Government continues secret FTA negotiations

[Kajal Bhardwaj]

FORUM AGAINST FTAs ALERT:

Indian Government continues secret FTA negotiations;
5th round of negotiations with EFTA to take place on 22-23 September in Del=
hi =C2=A0
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18 September 2009, Delhi - India is secretly negotiating more than 15 econo=
mic agreements with other countries or blocks of countries. Despite strong =
protests against the controversial signing of an agreement on trade in good=
s between the Association of South East Asian Nations and India (also calle=
d ASEAN-India FTA) last August, the Government of India continues negotiati=
ng more FTAs, including with developed countries.
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India is presently negotiating one such FTAs with a group of four European =
countries called the European Free Trade Association or EFTA. EFTA comprise=
s the countries of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstien. Next week=
, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 22nd and 23rd September, the 5th round of negot=
iations for a FTA between India and EFTA will take place in Delhi. There is=
 little public awareness on the content of the negotiations, despite these =
being underway since January 2008. Neither the Parliament nor State Governm=
ents have been informed of the contents or of the possible impacts of this =
FTA.
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EFTA countries are highly specialised and their FTAs with other countries i=
ndicate the key sectors likely to be affected:
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Finance: Because of the importance of the financial sector for its economy =
and intense corporate lobbying, Switzerland in particular pushes for the li=
beralisation of the financial and insurance sector. This would reduce India=
=E2=80=99s flexibility to respond to financial crises, like the one we just=
 experienced. Stiffer competition through further liberalisation of the ban=
king sector will lead to smaller domestic banks being squeezed out of busin=
ess. This is of significant concern as these banks give access to credit in=
 rural areas.
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Stronger Intellectual Property Protection: Members of EFTA, particularly Sw=
itzerland, echoing companies like Sandoz, Roche, Novartis have strong inter=
ests in far reaching Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection regulati=
ons, which includes data exclusivity and extended patent terms. Both of the=
se go beyond India=E2=80=99s commitments under the TRIPS Agreement and woul=
d delay the introduction of generic drugs. This would undermine India=E2=80=
=99s public health policy and, since India is a major exporter of generic d=
rugs, have a negative effect for people in need of these medicines around t=
he world. Swiss biotech giants like Syngenta also have a vested interest in=
 stronger IP protection over seeds and agrichemicals.
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Fisheries: Both Norway and Iceland, with sizeable fishing industries, have =
interests in India=E2=80=99s fish stock and liberalization of investments i=
n this sector. This FTA would facilitate the entry of foreign fishing fleet=
s into Indian waters with the same conditions as Indian fishing fleets. The=
 Norwegian commercial fleet is the 6th largest in the world today, equipped=
 with superior technology. This will mean that the Indian fishing community=
 would have to compete with larger and more mechanized vessels for their li=
velihood.
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The same would also apply for companies providing deep-sea petrol explorati=
on, tourism, directly overstepping on the fishing community right to natura=
l resources, by restricting their access to the seas. Conflicts with fishin=
g communities have already taken place as a 10 km range around an exploring=
 platform in Mumbai has been demarcated and is now inaccessible to fish wor=
kers. Norwegian companies specialized in superior technology and know-how i=
n the area of deep-sea drilling and hydro-electric power plants, like Aker =
Kvaerner and NCC, are already operating in India and are interested in regu=
lations facilitating their operations in the country.
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Finally, the entry of highly organized retail chains facilitated by =E2=80=
=98investments=E2=80=99 provisions in the FTA would affect women fish selle=
rs=E2=80=99 capacity to access local markets, along with hawkers and small =
retailers.
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For more information, contact:=C2=A0=C2=A0
Susana Barria, Intercultural Resources, +91-9958812915, sus.barria@gmail.co=
m
Shalini Bhutani, GRAIN, +91- 9810433076, shalini@grain.org

Forum Against FTAs is a loose network of trade unions, people=E2=80=99s mov=
ements, civil society organizations and academia working on issues related =
to agriculture, food security, livelihoods, fisheries, health, etc. The For=
um is calling for greater transparency in FTA negotiations and for genuine =
public participation and consultation.