India Pushes for WTO Reforms at Paris Ministerial

General Studies Paper -3

Context: India raised concerns and proposed reforms at a mini-ministerial WTO meet in Paris (2025), attended by 25 member nations.

• It aims to strengthen the multilateral trading system, revive WTO’s functioning, and protect the interests of developing economies.

India’s 3-Pronged Reform Agenda

• Tackle Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs): NTBs like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) & arbitrary standards are increasingly used to block exports from developing countries. India wants stricter oversight and transparency.
  • Example: Indian mangoes and basmati rice often face SPS-related rejections in EU and U.S. markets.
• Curb Non-Market Economy Distortions: Address the impact of national economies with heavy state control—primarily China—that distort global trade through practices such as subsidies, dumping, and lack of transparency.
  • Example: India’s steel and solar industries have been impacted by cheap Chinese imports, prompting safeguard duties and anti-dumping cases.
• Revive the Dispute Settlement System: WTO’s appellate body has been paralyzed since 2009 due to U.S. blockade of judge appointments. India calls for full restoration of a binding, impartial dispute resolution system.
  • Example: India’s disputes with the U.S. on steel tariffs and ICT product tariffs remain unresolved due to the appellate body deadlock.

Relevance of WTO in a Multipolar World

• Dispute Resolution: Crucial for managing trade tensions among rising powers (India, China, US, EU).
• Rule-Making: Essential to regulate new sectors (e-commerce, digital trade).
• Level Playing Field: Protects interests of developing nations from dominance of richer countries.
• Trade Facilitation: Helps standardize procedures for smoother global trade.

Need for Structural Change: Why Reform is Inevitable?

• Rising protectionism, trade wars (U.S.-China) bypassing WTO norms.
• Initiatives like Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) are backed by 128 countries, but lack consensus. India fears fragmentation and dilution of multilateralism.
• Permanent solution for public foodgrain stockholding still pending since Bali 2013.

Conclusion

• India’s reform agenda signals a pragmatic yet principled approach—preserving the WTO’s developmental character, resisting coercive plurilateralism, and modernizing core functions.