Delegates attend the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 14th ministerial meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
New Delhi held its ground on the IFD pact, endorsed by 128 members, despite being isolated after fellow opponents South Africa and Türkiye withdrew their objections. Standing as the sole dissenter among 166 members, India argued that incorporating the plurilateral deal would bypass the “consensus” rule and set a dangerous precedent for non-mandated issues to eclipse core mandated priorities such as food security.
Negotiation Edge
“India ensured that the voice of the Global South was well-articulated and the needs and aspirations of developing countries and LDCs were given primacy in the negotiating room,” Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a wrap-up comment on Sunday posted on X.
However, in the negotiations on e-commerce moratorium, the US demand for a permanent moratorium weighed heavily on India, which had called for a “careful reconsideration” of the moratorium itself to preserve revenue and policy space.
Moratorium Pressure
Sources said that there was great pressure on India to accept a four-five year moratorium this time, instead of the usual two-year one that has been the norm since 1998. Also important for India is the parallel extension of the moratorium on TRIPS Non-Violation Complaints (NVC), a mechanism that developing nations use to shield domestic policies from legal challenges.
On Sunday, India, Oman, and South Africa submitted a draft declaration on WTO reforms, emphasising Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries and the need to uphold past mandates. This stands in direct contrast to the US agenda, which has increasingly questioned consensus-based decision-making in favour of plurilateral tracks and new issues. Washington has also intensified calls for objective criteria for “developing country” status, arguing that major emerging economies should no longer benefit from preferential treatment.
Food Security
On agriculture, India stressed that permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes, special safeguard mechanism, and cotton are long-pending mandated issues, which need to be delivered on priority.
India also underscored that the challenge of overcapacity and overfishing arises from heavily subsidised industrial fleets, and not from small-scale fishermen in India and other developing countries & LDCs. It made a strong case in the WTO forum for ensuring that emerging decisions remain fair and do not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities, per a government statement.
“India constructively engaged in all agenda items and in areas where India had strong concerns, we took a position based on the principles of openness, fairness, non-discrimination and inclusivity, which are the cornerstones of WTO engagement,” Goyal said.
Published on March 29, 2026