New GATT treaty signed

The eight-year Uruguay round of GATT negotiations came to an end on Friday with the signing of the final act by trade ministers of more than 120 countries which creates a new multilateral trading system together with the biggest package of market access concessions ever negotiated. For India in particular, the round has ended with the developed countries beginning to see eye-to-eye on some of the “real issues” confronting developing countries. The six major agreements comprising the Marrakesh declaration are: decision on the establishment of the preparatory committee1 for the WTO, decision on the acceptance of the agreement establishing the WTO, decision on trade and environment, decision on trade in services and the environment, and lastly, organisational and financial consequences following from the implementation of the agreement establishing the WTO.

Union Carbide office ransacked

Members of the Karnataka Rajya Ryota Sangha (KRRS) on Friday ransacked the office of the multinational Union Carbide India Ltd, in Bangalore, in protest against India signing the GATT treaty. Meanwhile, the police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse anti-GATT agitators when they turned unruly near the Raj Bhavan.

Manmohan hopes to contain inflation

The Union Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the RBI Governor, Dr. C. Rangarajan, today promised to bring down the inflation in the current financial year.... Rangarajan said ‘a major consideration of monetary and credit policy during the current year will be the control of inflation’ and.. stressed the need for a moderate monetary expansion in 1994- 95.

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