New Delhi: India on March 14 made it clear that the onus lay with the developed world for removing roadblocks to the upcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial summit at Cancun and said the European Union (EU) should not be rigid on issues like sanitary and phytosanitary measures and market access.

"One of the primary onus of removing the roadblock lies with the developed world and the road to Cancun in September should be made smooth," Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley said.

Jaitley also expressed India's inability to ensure further trade facilitation given the restricted natural resources with the developing countries.

Trade facilitation is one of the four contentious Singapore issues on which India wanted further studies to be conducted before any negotiations while the EU was pressing for working out modalities for such discussions at the Cancun summit.

Addressing a joint industry meeting with the European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, Jaitley said it is for the developed world to grant concession to developing countries like India on important issues like SPS, market access, special and differential treatment and Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

Lamy, however, said though the standards set by EU on SPS were protectionist in nature this was only a response of the concerns of the European citizens.

"It needs to be assessed that to what extent can a country like India with 65 per cent of its population dependent on agriculture compete with heavily subsidised developed economies," Jaitley said.

If not on subsidies then at least on the issue of market access we expect concession from the European Union, Jaitley said.

Such concessions are all the more needed by the developing countries as it helps show the advantages of the WTO regime to the "domestic constituency".

Jaitley said it is heartening that Indo-EU bilateral trade has exceeded the target this year but was quick to point out this is nothing compared to what both the countries can achieve in future.

He said both countries have been very candid in their approach in dealing with multilateral issues and appreciated each other's positions on all the issues being negotiated upon by the WTO.

However, he highlighted the typical problems that confront Indian economy including those related to agriculture.

"I hope in the coming negotiations, countries in the developed world, like the EU, would keep in mind the special and differential treatment that is required by countries like India in areas of agriculture and industry," he added.

Lamy said the key to exploit the full potential of bilateral ties is to strengthen multilateral convergence and added that the number of issues on which India and the EU have a difference of opinion is shrinking in number.

PTI