Will India Continue To Have Adequate Policy Space To Raise Tariffs On Agricultural Products Even After The Doha Round?

The tariff cuts to be taken by developing countries would be moderated by four flexibilities that are built into the mandate of the Doha Round:

Developing countries are required to undertake no more than a maximum overall average cut of 36%. If the band-wise cuts described above lead to an overall average cut higher than 36%, they can take a lower cut proportionately across bands to keep within 36%. A simple slotting of India's tariffs into the appropriate tariff band and the applicable cut, results in an overall average cut of around 41%. So, we can scale back the cuts by the same factor in each band so that the overall average cut is no more than 36%.