DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS- 3rd SEPTEMBER 2019 BY SUMIT

IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY

                


BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                          3rd September 2019

1.UN conference on desertification kicks off(GS-3)

• CONTEXT:The COP, which meets every two years, discusses ways and means forward to address global land degradation.
• The 14th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) to combat desertification kicked off in New Delhi on Monday with India taking over the presidency of the COP for two years.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the convention next Monday, with senior ministers from nearly 70 countries expected to participate at that session.
• The COP, which meets every two years, discusses ways and means forward to address global land degradation. One in four hectares of arable land is considered unusable due to unsustainable land management. These have put nearly 3.2 billion people in the world at risk.
• Last week Mr. Javadekar said India had committed to rejuvenate 50 lakh hectares (5 million) of degraded land between 2021 and 2030.
• India faces a severe problem of land degradation, or soil becoming unfit for cultivation. About 29% or about 96.4 million hectares are considered degraded.
• 14th United Nations Conference of Parties (COP)(SOURCE:UNCCD) 
• Families and communities are breaking up, losing their homes and sources of livelihoods, often from single instances of droughts, flashfloods and forest fires. These negative impacts of unpredictable and extreme climatic conditions are now recurrent, more frequent and intense in many parts of the world. Today, over a million species are on the verge of extinction, threatening global food security, largely due to habitat loss and land degradation. Three out of every 4 hectares of land have been altered from their natural states and the productivity of about 1 in every 4 hectares of land is declining. Poor land health is on the rise, and is impacting 3.2 billion people all over the world. Land degradation working in tandem with climate change and biodiversity loss may force up to 700 million people to migrate by 2050. 
• UNCCD is reducing these impacts by promoting investment in the land to unlock opportunities for change, deliver hope and action, and help build a more sustainable path for the future.
• We are especially focused on the over 1.3 billion people who rely directly on the land to survive, and suffer the most from the biophysical impacts of land degradation and drought. They can enjoy a better, healthier future if they are able to protect, manage and restore their own land. Communities that rely solely on the land should be supported to become resilient in the face of environmental, social and climatic pressures. 
• Reversing land degradation and its outcomes while accelerating positive achievements for people and for ecosystems with a view to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals is the core agenda of the fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14). COP14 will take place on 2-13 September 2019 at the India Mart and Expo, in the Greater Noida area of New Delhi, India.
• The UNCCD’s Conferences of the Parties (COP) is the place where governments agree on strategic and effective land use and sustainable land management goals to ensure nature and ecosystems thrive. COP14 will focus on the critical gaps in land management and planning, but also on practical actions to ensure the successes we are achieving, which are becoming more evident on the biophysical level, increase human well-being everywhere. 
• Over 3,000 participants from all over the world are expected to participate in COP14. The Parties to the Convention will agree on the actions each will take over the next two years and beyond to get us on a sustainable development path. 
• Ministers from 196 countries, scientists and representatives of national and local governments, non-governmental organizations, city leaders, the private sector, industry experts, women, youth, journalists, faith and community groups will share their expertise, and agree on the most viable solutions. New actions will be guided by an assessment of the outcomes of the decisions they took two years ago.
• Desertification, land degradation and drought are huge challenges. But investing in the land and its stewards can open up vast opportunities for the economy and environmental resilience. COP14 is aiming to help countries achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by delivering tools and resources that are fit for purpose. Tools that are built on accurate and reliable science and data, participatory processes and compromise, and benefit everyone. Countries can withstand future environmental challenges better by optimizing land management and massively scaling up sustainable practices and the restoration of degraded land. 

2.India committed to defence ties with Japan, says Rajnath Singh

(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:Rajnath invites Japanese companies to participate in the biennial arms exhibition Defence Expo 2020, scheduled to be held in Lucknow.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on a two-day visit to Japan, on Monday met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo and said India was committed to enhance defence engagements between the two countries, besides strengthening bilateral arrangements.
• Mr. Singh also met Japane Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya on the first day of his visit. He is accompanied by a high-level defence ministry delegation.
• He also invited Japanese companies to participate in the biennial arms exhibition Defence Expo 2020, scheduled to be held in Lucknow.
• Mr. Singh co-chaired the Japan-India Defence Ministerial Meeting and discussed various issues of mutual concern, including new initiatives towards achieving peace and security in the region.
• According to officials, the Indo-Pacific vision was discussed with an expression of India’s preference for a rule-based order along with centrality of Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and inclusiveness and security for all.
• THE11th biennial edition of DefExpo India-2020 is scheduled to be held for the first time in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow.
• It offers an excellent opportunity for the Indian defence industry to showcase its capabilities and promote its export potential. Main theme of the DefExpo India-2020 will be 'India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub' and focus will be on 'Digital Transformation of Defence'.
• The shows are conducted at an international level, which not only facilitates Business-to-Business (B2B) interaction with senior foreign delegations but also Government-to-Government (G2G) meetings and signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).
• The exhibition will also highlight emergence of UP as an attractive destination for investment in the defence sector and act as a platform for alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry.
• The northern state has a strong defence industrial infrastructure. It has four units of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at Lucknow, Kanpur, Korwa and Naini (Prayagraj), nine ordnance factory units, including Kanpur, Korwa, Shahjahanpur, Firozabad and one unit of Bharat Electronics Limited at Ghaziabad.
• One of the two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) of India is also planned in Uttar Pradesh. The Corridor will encourage Defence Micro Small and Medium
• Enterprises (MSMEs), including our Indian defence industry and promote Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). The other DIC is proposed in Tamil Nadu.
• The DefExpo will provide an opportunity to the major foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to collaborate with the Indian defence industry and help promote 'Make in India' initiative of Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The DefExpo would provide a unique platform for Defence industry OEMs, exhibitors and private industry to display their latest innovations and capabilities.
• Ministerial level delegations from the foreign countries and visitors from all over the country as well as abroad are expected to visit DefExpo and witness India's emergence as a major manufacturing hub providing attractive opportunities for co-development and co-production of defence equipment and systems not only for our defence forces but also for export to the world.

3.Eight Apache attack helicopters to be inducted into IAF(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:The IAF had signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the U.S. government and Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters.
• In a major boost to the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities, eight US-made Apache AH-64E attack helicopters are set to be inducted into the IAF on September 3, officials said on Monday.
• Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa will be the chief guest during the induction ceremony, which will take place at the Pathankot Air Force station.
• The AH-64E Apache is one of the world’s most advanced multi-role combat helicopters and is flown by the U.S. Army.
• Apache Helicopter
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received the first AH-64E (I)-Apache Guardian helicopter at the Boeing production facility in Mesa, Arizona, USA.
• The Indian government has signed a contract for 22 Apache helicopters with the US government and M/s Boeing Ltd.
• Better known as an ‘attack helicopter’, Apache will lead to the modernisation of the IAF’s attack helicopter fleet which at present is equipped with Russian origin MI-35 helicopters that are on the verge of retirement.
• The helicopter has been customized to suit IAF’s future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain.
• The helicopter has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground.
• The helicopter also has the ability to transmit and receive battlefield picture through data uplinking and networking.

4.Warships and aircraft ready for first US-ASEAN maritime drills(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:The joint drills have come under criticism for looping in Myanmar’s Navy despite Washington imposing sanctions on top army brass over the Rohingya crisis
• Eight warships, four aircraft and more than a thousand personnel from the U.S. and ten Southeast Asian countries will join maritime drills kicking off on September 2, as part of a joint exercise extending into the flashpoint South China Sea.
• The first Asean-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) between the regional bloc and Washington lasts for five days, starting at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand and ending in Singapore.
• The drills come at a time of stepped-up U.S. engagement in the region and tensions between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
• Asean-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) SOURCE(www.navy.mil)
• The U.S. Navy and maritime forces from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will begin the first ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise (AUMX) with opening ceremonies at Sattahip Naval Base, Thailand Sept. 2.
• Co-led by the U.S. and Royal Thai navies, AUMX will consist of pre-sail activities in Thailand, Singapore and Brunei, followed by a sea phase in international waters in Southeast Asia, including the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea. The exercise will conclude in Singapore.
• In all, AUMX includes eight warships and four aircraft from seven countries, and more than a thousand personnel representing all ten ASEAN member states and the United States.
• "Our forces sail together during exercises throughout the year and have done so for decades," said Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. "AUMX provides a new multilateral venue to work together on shared maritime security priorities in the region." 
• AUMX promotes shared commitments to maritime partnerships, security and stability in Southeast Asia. Participating nations include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. 
• Rear Adm. Joey Tynch, commander of Task Force 73, who oversees the U.S. Navy’s security cooperation in Southeast Asia, noted that AUMX continues the trend of increased multilateral cooperation among navies in the Indo-Pacific.
• "The U.S. Navy along with our partners and allies have long known the value of working together," said Tynch. "AUMX builds greater maritime security on the strength of ASEAN, the strength of our navy-to-navy bonds, and the strength our shared belief in a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
• Throughout the exercise, ASEAN member states and U.S. forces will operate together under a combined task force structure, executing a variety of realistic scenarios designed to reinforce interoperability in areas such as visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS), maritime domain awareness, division tactics and maritime asset tracking. The task force headquarters will be located on board the Royal Thai Navy vessel HTMS Krabi (OPV 551), and include representatives from each ASEAN member state and the United States. An ashore support element in Singapore will also host representatives from each ASEAN member state. 
• Commercial vessels have been contracted by the United States to serve as the simulated target vessels for the VBSS portion of the exercise, which will focus on countering maritime threats. Teams from multiple countries will work together to board and seize the ships under a variety of realistic scenarios. 
• "AUMX provides an opportunity to work together at sea during realistic training scenarios," said Capt. Matt Jerbi, commodore of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7 and deputy commander of the AUMX Task Force. "Training in areas such as maritime domain awareness, where we share information and integrate operations, helps each of us to operate together more effectively." 
• U.S. assets include the littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8), the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), three MH-60 helicopters, a P-8 Poseidon aircraft and staff assigned to DESRON 7 and CTF 73. 
• AUMX was first proposed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in 2017 and confirmed during the 12th ADMM in October 2018.
• While this is the first exercise of its kind with ASEAN, the U.S. Navy has conducted engagements, exercises and port visits in Southeast Asia for decades. In 2019, the 25th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) bilateral exercise series commenced, along with the 18th Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) multilateral exercise.
• The U.S. Navy also participates routinely in ADMM-Plus maritime security exercises, to promote peace and stability throughout the region.

5.Eight core sectors growth slows to 2.1% in July(GS-3)

• CONTEXT:Growth in core sector activity quickened in July 2019 to 2.1%, due almost entirely to a recovery in the cement sector, according to official data released on Monday.
• The Index of Eight Core Industries had grown at just 0.7% in June 2019. However, July's growth rate is far lower than the 7.3% growth registered in the same month last year.
• The cement sector saw growth accelerating to 7.9% in July 2019 compared with a contraction of 1.7% in the previous month. The coal sector, however, slipped into contraction in July, contracting 1.4% compared with a growth of 3.2% in June.
• WHAT ARE CORE SECTORS?
• Core industry can be defined as the main industry. In most countries, there is a particular industry that seems to be the backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry.
• In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of
• Refinery products (28.04%)
• Electricity (19.85%)
• Steel (17.92%)
• Coal (10.33%)
• Crude oil (8.98%)
• Natural gas (6.88%)
• Cement (5.37%)
• Fertilisers (2.63%)
• These eight Core Industries comprise nearly 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures factory output.
• Index of Eight Core Industries is released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

6.Moon lander separation successful, says ISRO(GS-3)

• CONTEXT:Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram detached itself from atop the main spacecraft on Monday afternoon as planned, as it got ready to descend to the moon's southern surface over the next four days.

• The lander carries small six-wheeled rover Pragyan within it; once they reach the lunar surface, the rover will get out of Vikram to physically probe moon.
• The D-day for the two is September 7 around 1.55 a.m.
• CHANDRAYAAN 2- REVISION:
• Chandrayaan-2 mission:
• In September 2008, the Chandrayaan-2 mission was approved by the government for a cost of Rs 425 crore.
• It is India’s second mission to the moon.
• It aims to explore the Moon’s south polar region.
• The mission is an important step in India’s plans for planetary exploration, a program known as Planetary Science and Exploration (PLANEX).
• There are three components of the mission, an orbiter, a lander and a rover.
• The mission payloads include — Terrain Mapping Camera which will generate a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the entire moon, Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer which will test the elemental composition of the Moon’s surface Solar X-Ray Monitor which will provide solar X-ray spectrum inputs for CLASS. 
• The orbiter will be deployed at an altitude of 100 kilometers above the surface of the Moon. The lander will then separate from the orbiter, and execute a soft landing on the surface of the Moon, unlike the previous mission which crash landed near the lunar south pole.
• The lander, rover and orbiter will perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface.
• The rover is named Pragyan.
• The mission’s lander is named Vikram after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, the Father of the Indian Space Programme.
• Objectives of the mission:
• The primary objective of Chandrayaan-2 is to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.
• GSLV Mk-III:
• Developed by ISRO, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III is a three-stage vehicle.
• Primarily designed to launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit.
• It has a mass of 640 tonnes that can accommodate up to 8,000 kg payload to LEO and 4000 kg payload to GTO.
• GSLV Mk-III vehicle is powered by two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25), that has been designed for carrying the four-tonne class satellites.
• The C25 is powered by CE-20, India’s largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
• Why the south polar region of the moon? 
• According to ISRO, the lunar south pole is an interesting surface area, which remains in shadow as compared to the north pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it, the agency said, adding craters in the south pole region have cold traps and contain fossil records of the early solar system.
• The challenges along the way:
• Challenges involved in the moon landing are identifying trajectory accurately; taking up deep space communication; trans-lunar injection, orbiting around the moon, taking up soft landing on the moon surface, and facing extreme temperatures and vacuum.
• India: Fourth Country to Land a Spacecraft on Moon:
• India will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon. So far, all the landings have been in the areas close to the Moon’s equator.
• This is mainly because, this area receives more sunlight, which is required by solar powered instruments
• But Chandrayaan-2 will make a landing at a site where no earlier mission has gone, i.e., near the South Pole of the Moon. It can contain clues to the fossil records of early Solar System.
• The unexplored territory gives an opportunity for the Mission to discover something new.  The South Pole of the Moon holds possibility of presence of water. In addition, this area is also supposed to have ancient rocks and craters that can offer indications of history of the Moon.

7. 70 rare Assam temple turtle hatchlings released in ‘Mini Kaziranga’(GS-3)

• CONTEXT:Assam is the most species-rich State in India in terms of turtle diversity.
• About 70 hatchlings of the rare Black Softshell and Indian Softshell turtles bred in the ponds of two temples in Assam were on Monday released in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, about 50 km east of Guwahati.
• The sanctuary is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ because of similar landscape and a sizeable population of the one-horned rhino.
• The “wild restocking” of the two turtle species was done under a joint programme of the management committees of two temples — Ugratara in Guwahati and Hayagriv Madhav in Hajo about 35 km north-west — the Assam Forest Department and two NGOs specialising in the conservation of reptiles.
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary:
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuaryis a wildlife reserve in the Morigaon district of the state of Assam in India. It is located about 30 km east of Guwahati. The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is about 48 km by road from Guwahati. It is a 1-hour drive through a road passing by River Brahmaputra, and a small portion of the village of Mayong. It has a dense population of the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros.It covers 38.8 km2. Though the total notified area of the park is 38.80 square kilometres, only 16 square kilometres is the effective rhino habitat. Pobitora was declared a reserved forest in 1971 and a wildlife sanctuary in 1987. It covers flat flood plains and a hillock (Raja Mayong)
• Biodiversity
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is mainly famous for its great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. Besides rhinoceros, the other animals are leopard, wild boar, Barking deer, wild buffalo. Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles. It is also an Important Bird Area.In Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, there are now around 93 rhinos, a 10% increase over the last six years.These 93 rhinos are surviving on merely 16 square kilometre area of the park. Pobitora has exceeded its rhino-bearing capacity and is overpopulated. 
• The animals have begun moving outside the sanctuary in search of food, and chances of serious man-animal conflict are quite rife. Besides, the straying animals carry the risk of contracting diseases that afflict domestic animals. 
• Under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) which is a joint programme of the department of environment & forests, Govt of Assam, WWF India, the International Rhino Foundation and the US fish & wildlife service, six rhinos were translocated from Pobitora and re-introduced into the Manas National Park between December 2010 and January 2011. Earlier, under the same programme, two rhinos were similarly translocated from Pobitora to the Manas national Park in 2008.

8.CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE:INDIAN EXPRESS ARTICLE.

9.China lodges WTO trade complaint against US: Government(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:BEIJING: China said Monday it had lodged a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization (WTO), one day after new tariffs imposed by Washington on billions of dollars of Chinese goods came into force. "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to that. In accordance with relevant WTO rules, China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement published on its website. Washington moved ahead Sunday with the new tariffs on Chinese imports as it stepped up a high-pressure campaign aimed at compelling Beijing to sign a new trade deal.
• World Trade Organization (WTO):
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.
• The WTO has 164 members (including European Union) and 23 observer governments (like Iran, Iraq, Bhutan, Libya etc).
• Goals of WTO
• The WTO’s global system lowers trade barriers through negotiation and operates under the principle of non-discrimination.
• The result is reduced costs of production (because imports used in production are cheaper), reduced prices of finished goods and services, more choice and ultimately a lower cost of living.
• The WTO’s system deals with these in two ways.
• One is by talking: countries negotiate rules that are acceptable to all.
• The other is by settling disputes about whether countries are playing by those agreed rules.
• The WTO can stimulate economic growth and employment.
• The WTO can cut the cost of doing business internationally.
• The WTO can encourage good governance. Transparency — shared information and knowledge — levels the playing field.
• Rules reduce arbitrariness and opportunities for corruption.
• The WTO can help countries develop: Underlying the WTO’s trading system is the fact that more open trade can boost economic growth and help countries develop.
• In that sense, commerce and development are good for each other.
• In addition, the WTO agreements are full of provisions that take into account the interests of developing countries.
• The WTO can give the weak a stronger voice: Small countries would be weaker without the WTO. Differences in bargaining power are narrowed by agreed rules, consensus decision-making and coalition building.
• Coalitions give developing countries a stronger voice in negotiations.
• The resulting agreements mean that all countries, including the most powerful, have to play by the rules. The rule of law replaces might-makes-right.
• The WTO can support the environment and health: The trade is nothing more than a means to an end. The WTO agreements try to make trade support the things we really want, including a clean and safe environment, and to prevent governments using these objectives as an excuse for introducing protectionist measures.
• The WTO can contribute to peace and stability: When the world economy is in turmoil, the multilateral trading system can contribute to stability.
• Trade rules stabilize the world economy by discouraging sharp backward steps in policy and by making policy more predictable. They deter protectionism and increase certainty. They are confidence-builders.
• History
• From the early days of the Silk Road to the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the birth of the WTO, trade has played an important role in supporting economic development and promoting peaceful relations among nations.
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) traces its origins to the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which laid the foundations for the post-World War II financial system and established two key institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
• The conference delegates also recommended the establishment of a complementary institution to be known as the International Trade Organization (ITO), which they envisioned as the third leg of the system.
• In Havana in 1948, the UN Conference on Trade and Employment concluded a draft charter for the ITO, known as the Havana Charter, which would have created extensive rules governing trade, investment, services, and business and employment practices.
• The Havana Charter never entered into force, primarily because the U.S. Senate failed to ratify it. As a result, the ITO was stillborn.
• Meanwhile, an agreement as the GATT signed by 23 countries in Geneva in 1947 came into force on Jan 1, 1948 with the following purposes:
• to phase out the use of import quotas
• and to reduce tariffs on merchandise trade,
• The GATT became the only multilateral instrument (not an institution) governing international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established in 1995.
• Despite its institutional deficiencies, the GATT managed to function as a de facto international organization, sponsoring eight rounds (A round is a series of multilateral negotiations) of multilateral trade negotiations.
• So, the GATT became the only multilateral instrument governing international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established in 1995.
• The Uruguay Round, conducted from 1987 to 1994, culminated in the Marrakesh Agreement, which established the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• The WTO incorporates the principles of the GATT and provides a more enduring institutional framework for implementing and extending them.
• The GATT was concluded in 1947 and is now referred to as the GATT 1947. The GATT 1947 was terminated in 1996 and WTO integrated its provisions into GATT 1994.
• The GATT 1994 is an international treaty binding upon all WTO Members. It is only concerned with trade in goods.
• Why WTO replaced the GATT
• The GATT was only a set of rules and multilateral agreements and lacked institutional structure.
• The GATT 1947 was terminated and WTO preserved its provisions in form of GATT 1994 and continues to govern trade in goods.
• The trade in services and intellectual property rights were not covered by regular GATT rules.
• The GATT provided for consultations and dispute resolution, allowing a GATT Party to invoke GATT dispute settlement articles if it believes that another Party’s measure caused it trade injury.
• The GATT did not set out a dispute procedure with great specificity resulting in lack of deadlines, laxity in the establishment of a dispute panel and the adoption of a panel report by the GATT Parties.
• It made the GATT as a weak Dispute Settlement mechanism.
• The WTO and the United Nations (UN)
• Although the WTO is not a UN specialized agency, it has maintained strong relations with the UN and its agencies since its establishment.
• The WTO-UN relations are governed by the “Arrangements for Effective Cooperation with other Intergovernmental Organizations-Relations between the WTO and the United Nations” signed on 15 November 1995.
• The WTO Director General participates to the Chief Executive Board which is the organ of coordination within the UN system.
• Governance
• Ministerial Conference
• The topmost decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years.
• It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions.
• The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements
• General Council
• The General Council is the WTO’s highest-level decision-making body located in Geneva, meeting regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO.
• It has representatives (usually ambassadors or equivalent) from all member governments and has the authority to act on behalf of the ministerial conference which only meets about every two years.
• The General Council also meets, under different rules, as
• The General Council,
• the Trade Policy Review Body,
• and the Dispute Settlement Body (DSU)
• Three councils, each handling a different broad areas of trade, report to the General Council:
• The Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council)
• The Council for Trade in Services (Services Council)
• The Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council)
• As their names indicate, the three are responsible for the workings of the WTO agreements dealing with their respective areas of trade.
• Again they consist of all WTO members.The Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB)
• The WTO General Council meets as the TPRB to undertake trade policy reviews of Members under the TPRM and to consider the Director-General's regular reports on trade policy development.
• The TPRB is thus open to all WTO Members.
• Dispute Settlement Body (DSU)
• The General Council convenes as the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to deal with disputes between WTO members.
• Such disputes may arise with respect to any agreement contained in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round that is subject to the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU).
• The DSB has authority to:
• establish dispute settlement panels,
• refer matters to arbitration,
• adopt panel, Appellate Body and arbitration reports,
• maintain surveillance over the implementation of recommendations and rulings contained in such reports,
• and authorize suspension of concessions in the event of non-compliance with those recommendations and rulings.
• Appellate Body
• The Appellate Body was established in 1995 under Article 17 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU).
• The DSB shall appoint persons to serve on the Appellate Body for a four-year term.
• It is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO Members.
• The Appellate Body can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel, and Appellate Body Reports, once adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), must be accepted by the parties to the dispute.
• The Appellate Body has its seat in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council)
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) covers international trade in goods.
• The workings of the GATT agreement are the responsibility of the Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council) which is made up of representatives from all WTO member countries.
• The Goods Council has following committees dealing with specific subjects: (1) Agriculture, (2) Market access, (3) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (measures for the control of plant diseases especially in agricultural crops) Measures, (4) Technical barriers to trade, (5) Subsidies and countervailing measures, (6) Rule of origin, (7) Anti-dumping measures, (8) Importing licensing, (9)Trade related Investment Measures, (10) Safeguards, (11) Trade facilitation, (12) Customs valuation.
• These committees consist of all member countries.
• The Council for Trade in Services (Services Council)
• It operates under the guidance of the General Council and is responsible for facilitating the operation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and for furthering its objectives.
• It is open to all WTO members, and can create subsidiary bodies as required.
• Presently, the Council oversees the work of four such subsidiary bodies:
• the Committee on Trade in Financial Services:
• It carries out discussions on matters relating to trade in financial services and formulate proposals or recommendations for consideration by the Council.
• the Committee on Specific Commitments,
• the Working Party on Domestic Regulation,
• and the Working Party on GATS Rules
• The Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council)
• It monitors implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement).
• It provides a forum in which WTO Members can consult on intellectual property matters, and carries out the specific responsibilities assigned to the Council in the TRIPS Agreement.
• The TRIPS Agreement:
• sets the minimum standards of protection for copyrights and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications (GIs), industrial designs, patents, integrated circuit layout designs, and undisclosed information.
• establishes minimum standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) through civil actions for infringement, actions at the border,
• and at least in regard to copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, in criminal actions.
• WTO Ministerial Conferences (MC)
• The first Ministerial Conference (i.e. MC1) was held in Singapore in 1996 and the last one (MC11) was organised in Buenos Aires in 2017. All these MCs have evolved prevailing current global trading system.
• Singapore, 9-13 December 1996 (MC1)
• Trade, foreign, finance and agriculture Ministers from more than 120 World Trade Organization Member governments and from those in the process of acceding to the WTO participated.
• The following four issues termed as the Singapore issues were first brought up on which the multilateral body could initiate negotiations:
• trade and investment
• trade facilitation
• transparency in government procurement
• trade and competition
• Geneva, Switzerland 18-20 May 1998 (MC2)
• The Ministerial Declaration included following work programmes:
• the issues, including those brought forward by Members, relating to implementation of existing agreements and decisions;
• the future work already provided for under other existing agreements and decisions taken at Marrakesh;
• possible future work on the basis of the work programme initiated at Singapore;
• Priority areas for the next round of comprehensive negotiations on agriculture include Market access, Export subsidies etc.
• Seattle, USA November 30 – December 3, 1999 (MC3)
• There were two major issues,
• first, whether to start a new comprehensive round of negotiations such as the Uruguay Round or confine negotiations to the so-called "built in agenda" of agriculture and services mandated at the last Ministerial.
• Secondly, what should the negotiations encompass, more specifically what should be included in the agenda of the meeting.
• The meeting was unable to resolve both issues, and ended in stalemate.
• The deliberations were suspended without agreement on a new round of negotiations and without agreement on a ministerial declaration.
• Doha, Qatar 9-13 November 2001 (MC4)
• Agriculture: The special and differential treatment for developing countries shall be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations to enable developing countries to effectively take account of their development needs, including food security and rural development.
• Services: The negotiations on trade in services shall be conducted with a view to promoting the economic growth of all trading partners and the development of developing and least-developed countries.
• It recognizes the work already undertaken in the negotiations, initiated in January 2000 under Article XIX of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the large number of proposals submitted by members on a wide range of sectors and several horizontal issues, as well as on movement of natural persons.
• Market access for non-agricultural products:
• The negotiations shall take fully into account the special needs and interests of developing and least-developed country participants, including through less than full reciprocity in reduction commitments, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article XXVIII bis of GATT 1994.
• Transparency in government procurement:
• Recognizing the case for a multilateral agreement on transparency in government procurement and the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity building in this area, it agreed that negotiations would take place on the basis of a decision to be taken, by explicit consensus.
• Cancún, Mexico 10-14 September 2003 (MC5)
• The main task was to take stock of progress in negotiations and other work under the Doha Development Agenda.
• Hong Kong, 13-18 December 2005 (MC6)
• The WTO member economies aimed to reach a preliminary agreement on liberalization of farm trade by reducing subsidies, and address other issues at meeting, aiming for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round in 2006.
• After an intense talk, WTO Members have produced an interim package for the Doha Round negotiation:
• the deadlines for the elimination of agricultural export subsidies (2013) and cotton export subsidies (2006),
• and also mandates that duty and quota-free access for at least 97% of products originating from the least developed countries (LDCs) be provided by 2008.
• Regarding non-agricultural market access (NAMA), Members adopted the "Swiss formula" mandating greater cuts in higher tariffs, and decided that modalities for tariff reduction be established by April 30, 2006.
• The Swiss Formula (by the Swiss Delegation to the WTO) is a suggested method for reducing tariff on non-agricultural goods (NAMA) by both developed and developing countries.
• It makes different coefficients for developed and developing countries.
• Here, tariff-cuts are supposed to be undertaken such that it cuts higher tariffs more steeply than it cuts lower tariffs.
• This meeting could have been the final step of the Doha trade talks launched in 2001.
• Geneva, Switzerland 30 November - 2 December 2009 (MC7)
• The theme of the Conference is “The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment”.
• Unlike previous Conferences, this meeting was not a Doha Round negotiating session, but rather a chance for Ministers to reflect on all elements of WTO's work, exchange ideas and extend guidance on the best way forward in the years to come.
• Geneva, Switzerland 15-17 December 2011 (MC8)
• The Conference approved the accessions of the Russian Federation, Samoa and Montenegro.
• It adopted a number of decisions on intellectual property, electronic commerce, small economies, least developed countries’ accession, a services waiver for least developed countries, and trade policy reviews.
• It reaffirmed the integrality of special and differential treatment provisions to the WTO agreements and their determination to fulfil the Doha mandate to review them with a view to strengthening them and making them more precise, effective and operational.
• Bali, Indonesia 3-6 December 2013 (MC9)
• The Conference adopted the “Bali Package”, a series of decisions aimed at:
• streamlining trade,
• allowing developing countries more options for providing food security,
• boosting least-developed countries’ trade and helping development more generally.
• The Bali Package is a selection of issues from the broader Doha Round negotiations.
• The Conference also approved accession of Yemen as a new member of the WTO.
• Nairobi, Kenya 15-19 December 2015 (MC10)
• It culminated in the adoption of the "Nairobi Package", a series of decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries (LDCs).
• Agriculture:
• Special Safeguard Mechanism for Developing Country Members;
• Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes;
• Export Competition;
• Cotton: Stressing the vital importance of cotton to a number of developing economies and particularly the least-developed amongst them,
• Developed country Members, and developing country Members declaring themselves in a position to do so, shall grant preferential trade arrangements in favour of LDCs, as from 1 January 2016, duty-free and quota-free market access for cotton produced and exported by LDCs.
• LDC issues:
• Preferential Rules of Origin for Least Developed Countries;
• Implementation of Preferential Treatment in Favour of Services and Service Suppliers of Least Developed Countries;
• and Increasing LDC Participation in Services Trade;
• The decision in Nairobi builds on the 2013 Bali Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for LDCs.
• The “Nairobi Package” pays fitting tribute to the Conference host, Kenya, by delivering commitments that will benefit in particular the organization’s poorest members.
• Buenos Aires, Argentina 10-13 December 2017 (MC11)
• The Conference ended with a number of ministerial decisions, including on fisheries subsidies and e-commerce duties, and a commitment to continue negotiations in all areas.
• Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 8-11 June 2020 (MC12)
• The WTO members have agreed that the organization’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) will take place in June 2020 in Kazakhstan, which joined the WTO in 2015.
• The Doha Round
• The Doha Round is the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership. Its aim is to achieve major reform of the international trading system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules.
• The Round is also known semi-officially as the Doha Development Agenda as a fundamental objective is to improve the trading prospects of developing countries.
• The Round was officially launched at the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference (MC4) in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.
• The Doha Ministerial Declaration provided the mandate for the negotiations, including on following subjects:
• Agriculture: More market access, eliminating export subsidies, reducing distorting domestic support, sorting out a range of developing country issues, and dealing with non-trade concerns such as food security and rural development.
• Non-agricultural market access (NAMA): To reduce or as appropriate eliminate tariffs, including the reduction or elimination of high tariffs, tariff peaks and tariff escalation (higher tariffs protecting processing, lower tariffs on raw materials) as well as non-tariff barriers, in particular on products of export interest to developing countries.
• Services: To improve market access and to strengthen the rules.
• Each government has the right to decide which sectors it wants to open to foreign companies and to what extent, including any restrictions on foreign ownership.
• Unlike in agriculture and NAMA, the services negotiations are not based on a “modalities” text. They are being conducted essentially on two tracks:
• (a) bilateral and/or plurilateral (involving only some WTO members) negotiations
• (b) multilateral negotiations among all WTO members to establish any necessary rules and disciplines
• Trade facilitation: To ease customs procedures and to facilitate the movement, release and clearance of goods.
• This is an important addition to the overall negotiation since it would cut bureaucracy and corruption in customs procedures and would speed up trade and make it cheaper.
• Rules: These cover anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, fisheries subsidies, and regional trade agreements.
• “Clarifying and improving disciplines” under the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies agreements;
• and to “clarify and improve WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies, taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries.
• The environment: These are the first significant negotiations on trade and the environment in the GATT/ WTO. They have two key components:
• Freer trade in environmental goods – Products that WTO members have proposed include: wind turbines, carbon capture and storage technologies, solar panels.
• Environmental agreements – Improving collaboration with the secretariats of multilateral environmental agreements and establishing more coherence between trade and environmental rules.
• Geographical indications (GI): multilateral register for wines and spirits
• Geographical indications are place names (in some countries also words associated with a place) used to identify products that come from these places and have specific characteristics (for example, “Champagne”, “Tequila” or “Roquefort”). Under the TRIPS Agreement, all geographical indications have to be protected at least to avoid misleading the public and to prevent unfair competition (Article 22).
• This is the only intellectual property issue that is definitely part of the Doha negotiations.
• The objective is to “facilitate” the protection of wines and spirits in participating countries. The talks began in 1997 and were built into the Doha Round in 2001.
• Other intellectual property issues: Some members want negotiations on two other subjects and to link these to the register for wines and spirits. Other members disagree. Following these two topics are discussed:
• GI “extension”- Extending the higher level of protection for geographical indications beyond wines and spirits.
• Biopiracy, benefit sharing and traditional knowledge
• Dispute settlement: To improve and clarify the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the WTO agreement dealing with legal disputes.
• These negotiations take place in special sessions of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
• With Doha Round seemingly adrift (directionless), the global Great Recession that began in the second half of 2008 led to fears that the world may face a wave of protectionism that the WTO would be powerless to prevent. Negotiations continued after the 2008 global financial crisis with low expectations.
• The 2013 Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Bali, Indonesia, delivered a significant achievement, the first multilateral agreement since the creation of the WTO.
• This was the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which aims to speed up customs procedures and make trade easier, faster, and cheaper.
• The TFA was only a small slice of the larger Doha agenda, but the successful deal was a cause for optimism.
• The talks also reached an interim agreement (a peace clause) on “public stockholding” continuing exceptions that allow developing countries to stockpile agricultural products to protect against food shortages.
• 2015 Ministerial Conference Nairobi, Kenya (MC10) focused on a selected number of issues that are part of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Agreement was reached on following DDA issues:
• Stopping the use of subsidies and other schemes unfairly supporting agricultural exports
• Ensuring that food aid for developing countries is given in a way which does not distort local markets
• Seeking to simplify the conditions that exporters from the poorest countries have to meet, so that their products benefit from trade agreements (so-called rules of origin)
• Giving more opportunities for businesses from the poorest countries to provide services in the WTO's 164 member countries
• However, for many observers, Nairobi signalled the end of the Doha talks, a sentiment that intensified after the 2016 election of Trump.
• President Trump made clear his preference for bilateral trade when he withdrew from the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) shortly after taking office.
• In 2017 Ministerial Conference Buenos Aires (MC11), USA reflected the skepticism toward multilateralism when it blocked agreement on a draft ministerial declaration that would have “reaffirmed the centrality of the multilateral trading system and the development dimension of the organisation’s work.”
• Meanwhile, India, which has repeatedly threatened to block WTO agreements (including the Trade Facilitation Agreement) unless WTO members conceded to its demands on public stockholding for food security. India also toughened its stand on new issues including e-commerce and investment facilitation.
• In the end, it was a relief to many that the United States did not actively seek to dismantle the WTO—as some had feared. But giving up its traditional leadership role could lead to a similar result, only more slowly.
• WTO Contribution to World
• The WTO is one of the three international organisations (the other two are the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group) which by and large formulate and co-ordinate world economic policy. It is playing a crucial role in:
• the international trade,
• global economics,
• and the political and legal issues arising in the international business because of globalization.
• It has emerged as the world's most powerful institution for reducing trade related barriers between the countries and opening new markets.
• It cooperates with the IMF and World Bank in terms of making cohesiveness in making global economic policies.
• Through resolving trade related disputes, the WTO has got the potential to maintain world peace and bilateral relations between its member countries thorough following negotiations, consultations and mediations.
• Global trade rules: Decisions in the WTO are typically taken by consensus among all members and they are ratified by members’ parliaments. This leads to a more prosperous, peaceful and accountable economic world.
• Trade negotiations: The GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth.
• The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds, held under the GATT. The 1986-94 round – the Uruguay Round – led to the WTO’s creation.
• In 1997, an agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round.
• Also in 1997, 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information.
• In 2000, new talks started on agriculture and services. These were incorporated into a broader work programme, the Doha Development Agenda, launched at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC4) in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.
• At the 9th Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Bali in 2013, WTO members struck the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which aims to reduce border delays by slashing red tape.
• The expansion of the Information Technology Agreement – concluded at the 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi in 2015 – eliminated tariffs on an additional 200 IT products valued at over US$ 1.3 trillion per year.
• Most recently, an amendment to the WTO’s Intellectual Property Agreement entered into force in 2017, easing poor economies’ access to affordable medicines.
• The same year saw the Trade Facilitation Agreement enter into force.
• WTO agreements:
• The WTO’s rules – the agreements – are the result of negotiations between the members.
• The current set is largely the outcome of the 1986- 94 Uruguay Round negotiations, which included a major revision of the original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• Goods: From 1947 to 1994, the GATT was the forum for negotiating lower tariffs and other trade barriers; the text of the GATT spelt out important rules, particularly non- discrimination. After 1994, WTO ratified new, comprehensive, integrated GATT as GATT 1994.
• WTO and India
• India is a founder member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1947 and its successor, the WTO.
• India's participation in an increasingly rule based system in the governance of international trade is to ensure more stability and predictability, which ultimately would lead to more trade and prosperity.
• Services exports account for 40% of India's total exports of goods and services. The contribution of Services to India's GDP is more than 55%.
• The sector (domestic and exports) provides employment to around 142 million people, comprising 28% of the work-force of the country.
• India's exports are mainly in the IT and IT enabled sectors, Travel and Transport, and Financial sectors.
• The main destinations are the US (33%), the EU (15%) and other developed countries.
• India has an obvious interest in the liberalisation of services trade and wants commercially meaningful access to be provided by the developed countries.
• Since the Uruguay Round, India has autonomously liberalised its Services trade regime across the board.
• Ensuring food and livelihood security is critical, particularly for a large agrarian economy like India.
• India is persistently demanding for a permanent solution on public stockholding subsidies at WTO.
• At 2013 Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Bali, an interim agreement (a peace clause) was made on “public stockholding” continuing exceptions that allow developing countries to stockpile agricultural products to protect against food shortages.
• India strongly favours extension of higher levels of protection to geographical indications for products like Basmati rice, Darjeeling tea, and Alphonso mangoes at par with that provided to wines and spirits under the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.
• Developed countries have been putting pressure on inclusion of non-trade issues such as labour standards, environmental protection, human rights, rules on investment, competition policy in the WTO agreements.
• India is against any inclusion of non-trade issues that are directed in the long run at enforcing protectionist measures (based on non-trade issues, the developed countries like USA and European Union are trying to ban the imports of some goods like textile, processed food etc.), particularly against developing countries.
• WTO Concerns
• In 2001, the WTO membership launched the “Doha Development Agenda” – a massive attempt to update trading rules. The participating countries spent years trying and failing to reach an agreement.
• A central problem in negotiation was the difficulty of getting well over 150 countries to reach a consensus.
• In the previous negotiating round (The Uruguay Round, conducted from 1987 to 1994), potential hold-out countries could be threatened with exclusion from the new WTO.
• That trick could not be repeated once they were already in.
• The 2017 WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) Buenos Aires ended without any substantial outcome as consensus failed the 164-member body.
• The USA blocked a permanent solution on government stockholding for food security purposes, resulting in India’s toughened stand on new issues including e-commerce and investment facilitation.
• Developed countries led by the US and the European Union sought to find a way out of the deadlock at the WTO talks by forming large pressure groups on e-commerce, investment facilitation and MSMEs within the WTO with more than 70 members in each formulation.
• Though WTO is driven by consensus and even a plurilateral agreement needs approval of all members, the formation of these groups as an attempt to steer WTO away from its focus on multilateralism.
• It’s fierce defense of ‘Trade Related Intellectual Property’ rights (TRIPs)—patents, copyrights and trademarks—comes at the expense of health and human lives.
• WTO has protected for pharmaceutical companies’ ‘right to profit’ against governments seeking to protect their people’s health by providing lifesaving medicines in countries in areas like sub-saharan Africa, where thousands die every day from HIV/AIDS.
• The U.S.A. has consciously (or not) destroyed the Doha round of trade negotiations process in formulating excessive demands that no country was prepared to meet.
• The priority of the Obama administration was not to revive a dying WTO negotiation, but to concentrate on its newly created alternative, the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), to contain its competitors: Europe and China.
• For years now, the multilateral system for the settlement of trade dispute has been under intense scrutiny and constant criticism.
• The U.S. has systematically blocked the appointment of new Appellate Body members (“judges”) and de facto impeded the work of the WTO appeal mechanism.
• Chinese mercantilism (try to influence trade and business, especially by encouraging exports and putting limits on imports), the USA’s aggressive use of unilateral tariff measures, and the inability of WTO members to reach consensus on expanding its disciplines to important new sectors in the modern economy reinforce the critique of the WTO.
• WTO Future
• Since the WTO is consensus-based, reaching an agreement on reforms among all 164 members is extremely difficult. One possibility moving forward could be a plurilateral agreement with a group of like-minded countries on a new set of rules that serve as an addendum (supplement) to the broader WTO.
• Conclusion
• Today, the world is going through the protectionism, trade war (like USA & China), and Brexit making global economy squeezed. The role of WTO in future is very crucial to preserve global liberalised economic system evolved since the end of the 2nd World War.
• It is right time when countries like USA giving threat to withdraw from WTO making it dysfunctional, India and other emerging economies like Brazil, South Africa etc can provide a strong base for strong WTO with saving interests of developing countries.