Implications of the WTO on Indian Marine Industry, Issues and Policy Perspectives

The outcomes of WTO negotiations under the Doha round, Hong Kong development round and the changing European Union regulations are likely to place new hurdles on the marine exports emerging from developing economies like India. In the light of the above, we attempt to discuss the impact of WTO-GATS on the Indian Marine Trade and Service industry, analyze the challenges faced by the developing countries, and suggest way-outs to respond them. Many other WTO-GATS related aspects have repercussions on the marine exports from the developing countries in Asia and India in particular; namely the outcomes from the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM), the relation between trade rules and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), Technical Assistance and Capacity Building (TA & CB) and the provisions for Special and Differential Treatment (SDT). The impact of GATS and the implications on Indian marine trade & services are specifically assessed in context of Tariff barriers, Non-tariff measures, Subsidies and Eco-labeling. Relevant policy implications follow the issues discussed.