India denies blocking agenda at World Trade organisation meet

NEW DELHI: India has strongly refuted allegations of blocking an agenda to discuss easing investment norms globally in the World Trade organisation, saying it only objected to an item in the agenda, which was a matter of domestic policy and outside the trade body's purview.

On May 10, the General Council, the highest decision-making body of the WTO, met to discuss the agenda, which included the item ‘trade and investment facilitation’. India objected to this item. This move was criticised by countries, including some BRICS nations, with some accusing India of blocking the agenda of easing investment norms.

“India was happy to approve the agenda without this item,” a senior commerce ministry official said. “Investment and investment facilitation is a matter of domestic policy,” the official said, while refuting allegations of being obstructionist.

India has always maintained that the issue doesn't have the mandate to be discussed at the multilateral forum since it restricts the right of countries to regulate investment.

But it came up for discussion. A total of five proposals on Investment and investment facilitation had been submitted to WTO. Brazil and Argentina submitted a joint paper, China made its own proposal, and one paper was from MIKTA group comprising Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia.

Eight countries, including Pakistan, made a submission to WTO under the name Friends of Investment Facilitation for Development. Russia also floated a paper on this matter. Apprehensions about a multilateral system for investment facilitation exist because it is seen to open a window for investor protection — something that the Russian proposal has mentioned.

The WTO General Council later called for informal consultations where India reiterated its stance to take investment off the agenda and found support from Uganda, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Earlier, India, the US and South Africa thwarted efforts by many other countries for a multilateral agreement on investment during the G20 technical experts’ meeting.

Other pressing issues
Besides losing control of investment regulation in strategic sectors, India highlighted agriculture-related concerns that are pending in the WTO. India, in its response, accused other countries of bringing up a matter that was not under WTO’s purview at a time when there was unfinished agenda that needed to be concluded.

“It is seven months before the ministerial conference, and there is important agenda already on the table,” the commerce ministry official said, referring to the unfinished agenda of the Doha Development Round and finding a permanent solution for public stockholding concerns of developing countries by the end of this year.



A special safeguards mechanism to protect farmers in developing countries against sudden import surges also needs continued work, the official said. “We can't give negotiating capital (to new items) till that is resolved.”