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because the policy process is driven by the bureaucracy itself. Within the bureaucracy,
the Department of Commerce has a more liberal orientation and sees itself as a trade
promoting instrument. It tends of have a more holistic view of the negotiations and is
willing to make intersectoral trade-offs to get the best deal for the country. However,
within the context of the new policymaking framework, the DoC tends to defer, to a
considerable extent, to the policy recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Therefore, the more cautious voice of the MoA gets reflected in India’s bargaining
position. Given the outcome of the 2004 elections, in which rural India overwhelmingly
rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rhetoric of a “shining” India and brought a larger
number of leftist representatives to power, it does not seem that this cautious voice will
change anytime soon.