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India Opposes WTO Plurilateral Agreements Amid Global Pressure

India Opposes WTO Plurilateral Agreements Amid Global Pressure
India & most WTO members remain at loggerheads on plurilateral pacts · indianexpress.com

India is one of the few large countries opposing plurilateral agreements on e-commerce and investments within the World Trade Organization (WTO).

These agreements are supported by major trading powers like the US, EU, and China, who see them as a way to modernize the WTO.

India, however, argues that these agreements violate the WTO's core principle of consensus-based decision-making.

During a recent trade policy review, countries like the EU, Canada, UK, Cambodia, and Gambia questioned India's approach, alleging that it is holding up the WTO reform process.

India maintains that plurilateral agreements pose systemic risks and are not core trade issues.

Despite global pressure, India remains firm in its opposition, citing the need to uphold the foundational principles of the WTO.

Key facts

WTO Members Supporting IFD
129
WTO Members Supporting E-Commerce Agreement
66
India's Trade Policy Review Frequency
Once every five years
India's Stand on Plurilateral Agreements
Opposes, citing violation of core WTO principles
Major Trading Powers Supporting Plurilateral Agreements
US, EU, China
Countries Questioning India's Approach
EU, Canada, UK, Cambodia, Gambia
India's Commerce Secretary
Rajesh Agrawal
WTO DG
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Quotes

EU representative

EU diplomatic representative

“The EU encourages India to rethink its approach to plurilateral agreements and to consider them as an opportunity to shape the agenda of the WTO and to modernise the organisation rather than as a threat to multilateralism – which they are not, if we build them properly”
indianexpress.com

Sources

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