VS urges Manmohan to reconsider FTA decision
The Hindu | 28 July 2008
VS urges Manmohan to reconsider FTA decision
Special Correspondent
Thiruvananathapuram: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reconsider the Union government’s decision to sign the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In a letter to the Prime Minister on Monday, the Chief Minister said the agreement contained many clauses which would have far-reaching consequences for the agricultural economy of the State.
He asked Dr. Singh not to forget that the agreement was being signed at a time when the market possibilities of coconut oil and pepper had dimmed from liberalised imports. It would lead to the liberalised import of rubber, tea, pepper and edible oils. These were the products on which Kerala had a stake.
Liberalised import would make their prices crash and lead to a direct fall in the income of farmers. The agreement in its present form would not provide the protection of even the negative list which was envisaged earlier.
Duty cuts
The agreement provided for a regulated reduction in the duty of items imported from the ASEAN countries. The liberalisation of fish import was another major item in the agreement. It would render jobless over 10 lakh people. The State’s agricultural economy would be shattered if the Centre went ahead with the agreement.
That the Centre did not consider the views of the States which would be affected by such an agreement was a serious matter. No trade agreement should affect farmers’ interests and welfare.
Trade agreements and policies of such a strong nature which did not take into consideration people’s problems were bound to cast a shadow on people’s lives. He appealed to the Prime Minister not to go ahead with the agreement as it would lead to serious socio-economic problems to the farmers of Kerala in particular.
The Chief Minister drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the large-scale crop loss in the recent heavy rain and its ill effects.
