Washington, February 10:

The United States asked India yesterday to make ‘tangible’ offers and to lead developing nations back to the moribund Doha Round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.

“India’s leadership is required to be able to get a WTO agreement that will help the whole world and will help India as well,” US commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez said ahead of a February 13-14 trip to New Delhi. “I do want to impress upon all of the Indian government officials that without India’s leadership, we can’t do it.”

Gutierrez urged India to enhance its offers in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors in a move that could be emulated by other developing economies to help achieve a breakthrough of the Doha Round. “It has to be tangible progress and it has to be tangible movements in those areas, but the important thing is that developing nations are watching. They look to India to play a leadership role and they want to see India is moving before they move,” Gutierrez said. The Doha Round is deadlocked because of differences between the EU and the US on agriculture and because of discord between rich and poor countries about farming subsidies. In addition, industrialised nations are seeking greater access to developing nations.