India stands alone against China-backed WTO investment pact

With Türkiye dropping its opposition to investment facilitation agreement, India is left alone to keep the China-backed proposal out of the ambit of WTO as talks at the ministerial meeting in Cameroon enter the final 24 hours, reports Sidhartha. Govt has steadfastly opposed the entry of investment facilitation for development — a plurilateral agreement with 130 of the 160 members agreeing to it — arguing that it is a backdoor way to legitimise a treaty whose negotiations were not cleared by the entire membership and which would have implications going forward.

A group of 66 countries, including the UK and Japan, on Saturday also sought to seek a plurilateral agreement on digital trade.

But that is not the only battle that negotiators led by commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal have to fight. India will also have to navigate its way amid attempts by the US to clinch a permanent moratorium on e-commerce — that does not allow customs duties on digital downloads and streaming — by promising a package for least developed countries in Africa, exemplifying how the Trump administration is playing hard despite its criticism of WTO.

While India is keen to find a solution, for almost 30 years, it has used this as a bargaining chip at every meeting, realising that an imposition of duty on streaming and downloads is set to generate revenue for it and others and put those such as the US at a disadvantage.




But, for a change, India, the US, Russia and Pakistan are on the same side in their pitch for a reform of the 31-year-old multilateral body. Along with Egypt and Paraguay, they are backing a reform plan, as opposed to a work programme. On Saturday, India backed the adoption of draft decision on fisheries subsidies, though with a condition. “India’s support for the adoption of the draft decision, while emphasising that further decisions must deliver an equitable and development-oriented outcome that protects both marine resources and livelihoods,” Goyal posted on X.
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