New issues should not be considered for ministerial mandates unless past decisions and unfulfilled mandates were acted upon, states India
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal at MC13 being held in Abu Dhabi. Photo: @NOIweala / X (formerly Twitter) India and South Africa formally opposed the adoption of Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement for consideration during the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on February 28.
MC-13 commenced on February 26 in Abu Dhabi and is set to conclude on February 29.
Over 120 countries were pushing for IFD to become part of the multilateral trade body for improving investment and business climate. But India has termed it a non-trade issue that doesn’t fall within the framework of the multilateral trade body.
The China-led group of countries wanted to bring the proposal for IFD through Annexure-4 of the WTO, which will make the proposal binding on the members who sign it.
However, India objected to it and pointed out that investment-related issues can’t be brought under the WTO’s ambit.
According to the Marrakesh Agreement — the WTO’s constitution — a new plurilateral agreement can only be adopted through ‘Annexure 4’ rules, meaning by explicit consensus of all WTO Members.
The Minister of Trade for South Korea, a co-sponsor of the agreement, acknowledged they would need consensus to incorporate the deal. According to civil society organisations, the minister also said the WTO Secretariat is “trying to persuade opponents” to drop their opposition.
In her speech at the opening of the conference, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala termed the agreement a possible “deliverable”.
Read more: Agriculture, fisheries take spotlight at WTO meet in Abu Dhabi
On February 28, India made the point that the issues relevant to developing countries should find focus and prominence and insisted that new issues should not be considered for ministerial mandates unless past decisions and unfulfilled mandates were acted upon.
Meanwhile, in the working session on development, India highlighted that historically, on the issue of development, there has been no dearth of promises made by developed countries, “with each ministerial churning lofty ideas”.
“There have been many promises, but very little action, on account of which the vulnerabilities of the developing countries, including least developed countries have only amplified further,” the Union ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement.
It recalled that the principles of ‘Special and Differential Treatment’ that were facing attack from the developed members were no exceptions to the general WTO rules, and in fact they were the inherent objectives of the Multilateral Trading System.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.