BRICS nations commit to refrain from protectionist measures

Brazil: BRICS nations, including India, have expressed commitment to refrain from taking any protectionist measures and improve policy coordination to enhance trade and investment.

"They (BRICS trade ministers) reaffirmed their commitment to refrain from trade protectionist measures that are incompatible with WTO obligations, while respecting the special and differential treatment for developing countries," said a joint communique on the eve of the sixth BRICS Summit. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attended the meet of Trade Ministers of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The ministers also expressed concern over the slow pace of global economic recovery and stressed that "the uncertainty regarding economic growth and policy responses in developed countries could lead to increased volatility in financial markets and further affect the international economy". They emphasised that updating international governance structures remain a necessity for better policy coordination and for the promotion of global economic prosperity, it said.

In spite of the challenging economic environment, it said the BRICS countries will continue to contribute to the global economic recovery. The leaders vowed to continue work to further strengthen their economic relations, the statement said. Further, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of a continued dialogue on international investment agreements.

The BRICS trade ministers emphasised that the conclusion of the Doha Round on the basis of its development mandate remains central to the objective of promoting the full integration of developing countries into the global trading system. The Doha Round of talks under the WTO have seen numerous deadlines come and go amid basic disagreement over rich- country farm subsidies and access to developing-country markets for manufactured goods.

The Ministers also affirmed their commitment to coordinate to ensure that the efforts to establish a work programme in the WTO will lead to a balanced transparent, inclusive and development-oriented outcome in all pillars. "The Ministers also reaffirmed that the work programme should reflect the centrality of agriculture and of the development dimension and the commitment to prioritise the issues where legally-binding outcomes could not be achieved at the Bali Ministerial Conference," the joint communique said.

Further, the leaders noted that trade and investment make a vital contribution to the creation of jobs and to the promotion of strong, sustainable and balanced growth and development. They welcomed the Joint Trade Study prepared by the CGETI, which makes important recommendations for promoting value-added exports among BRICS members. They instructed the CGETI to continue working on its recommendations. "The Ministers endorsed the BRICS Trade and Investment Facilitation Action Plan developed by the CGETI. They noted that it built upon the BRICS Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework and encouraged BRICS members to implement it on a voluntary basis," it added. Intra-BRICS trade is about USD 230 billion and has the potential of more than doubling to USD 500 billion by 2015.