At WTO, India breathes fire over Dragon's trade policies

New Delhi: India has questioned several moves by China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), turning the heat on non-transparent subsidies that lead to an influx of low-priced, poor-quality goods into the country, harming its local industries.

New Delhi flagged concerns over several trade issues during a review of Beijing's trade policies.

It highlighted China's cross-border data regulations and laws, export control measures on critical raw materials, and non-tariff barriers that adversely impact pharma exports, besides export bans on critical minerals.


India also queried the consistency of these practices with global trade norms. The concerns stem from India's $85.07 billion trade deficit in FY24 with China. In the current fiscal year until August, the gap has already reached $40.8 billion.

Non-tariff barriers have hit India's exports of shrimp and bovine meat to China. "Market access to many products is restricted, which would otherwise help lower the trade deficit," said an official.

In this regard, India wanted clarity on the scientific objective of the proposed health certificate format for shrimp imports.

This requires every shrimp consignment to be tested for certain pathogens and viruses.

India reiterated its demand for market access for bovine meat, which has been pending with China for a long time. China responded by saying that its restrictions were related to the outbreak of bovine nodular skin disease in India.

As per officials, India also sought detailed information on how the Chinese authorities ensure adherence to due process and transparency in anti-dumping investigations.

New Delhi has also questioned the China-led plurilateral Investment Facilitation Development (IFD) agreement at the WTO.

The proposed global pact, which India is opposed to, emphasises transparency of investment measures, streamlining and speeding up investment-related authorisations, enhancing international cooperation, information sharing, exchange of best practices and sustainable investment.

The pact seeks to put in place a pre-investment review or appeal system through an independent body that would screen all investments.

This would imply that India will have to explain every move on the investment front if it becomes a signatory, including Press Note 3. This makes prior government approval mandatory for foreign direct investment (FDI) from countries sharing a land border with India. That has brought Chinese investments under greater scrutiny.

India’s worry is that the proponents of the IFD pact are attempting to bring a “non-mandated, non-multilateral issue” to the multilateral fold. New Delhi also wants to know how China plans to integrate the IFD agreement into the multilateral framework as it violates the trade body’s fundamental rule of consensus-based decision making.