WTO talks won't hit Indo-US trade ties:

Kamal Nath2 Aug, 2008, 0521 hrs IST, ET Bureau
In the wake of the collapse of the WTO ministerial conference in Geneva, Union commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath has assured that bilateral free trade agreements and regional trade agreements (RTA) with the US would not be affected adversely. This statement has come in after the rejection of special safeguard mechanism (SSM) in agriculture in the developing countries by the US. Instruments like SSM and special products (SP) were presented in the Doha mandate to safeguard the interests of farmers in developing countries. While the special safeguard mechanism protects the farmers in case of a sudden import upsurge or price dip, special products ensure a low tariff cut on vulnerable agri-products, especially those affecting the livelihoods of subsistence farmers and the food security of a nation.