Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that consensus-based decision-making is the bedrock of the WTO’s legitimacy, as the discussions related to reforms in the global trading system, electronic commerce, TRIPS non-violation and the package for least developed countries (LDCs) will now continue in Geneva.
The minister’s statement comes after the conclusion of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO at Yaounde in Cameroon on Monday, where he led the Indian delegation. Goyal emphasised that it is important for the WTO not to ignore the sovereign right of each member not to bind itself to rules which they do not agree to.
While extending India’s support for a time-bound restart of reform efforts with milestones, he stressed the importance of the WTO to undertake a transparent, inclusive and member-driven assessment of the current impasse and its underlying causes.
India also highlighted that an integrated multilateral trading system cannot thrive alongside fragmentation within its own institutional framework and called for the consensus process to be premised on the principles of openness, transparency, inclusivity, participative and member-driven.
Goyal emphasised India’s proactive and historical conservation efforts, including the 61-day annual fishing ban, and underlined India’s long-standing commitment to sustainability well before it became a global priority. He highlighted that the incorporation of Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement risks eroding the functional limits of the WTO and undermining its foundational principles.
In MC-14, India engaged positively on the issue of moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission, but convergence could not be reached amongst the members. India calls for a cautious approach to be taken on agriculture negotiations to ensure that the focus of negotiations is not diverted and remains consistent with delivering priority outcomes on long-pending issues on PSH, SSM and cotton as per past ministerial mandates, according to a statement issued by the Commerce Ministry on Tuesday.
India extends support for the proposal for extension of the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints (NVSC) in the TRIPS agreement. In Yaounde, ministers agreed to continue to engage in negotiations on fisheries subsidies, with the aim of making recommendations to the MC-15, to achieve the comprehensive disciplines on fisheries subsidies referred to in Article 12 of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
Ministers also adopted two MC14 decisions that were endorsed earlier by members in Geneva: on improving the integration of small economies into the multilateral trading system; and on enhancing the precise, effective and operational implementation of special and differential treatment provisions in the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Goyal focused on the need for the WTO to address long-pending issues like food security, PSH, and SSM on Cotton to be prioritised while taking up new issues to address the structural asymmetries. The continued dysfunction of the dispute settlement system was an issue that India highlighted.
India also cautioned against weaponising transparency to justify trade retaliation or challenge legitimate domestic policies and emphasised the importance of all Members to have a fair opportunity to build productive capacity, create employment, and participate meaningfully in global trade.