India will push for development-oriented reform of global trade rules along with progress on e-commerce, fisheries and agriculture subsidies at the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC14) beginning March 26 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The four-day meeting will bring together trade ministers from WTO member countries to discuss key issues including organizational reform, the e-commerce work program and moratoriums, investment facilitation development (IFD), fisheries subsidies and long-term agriculture and development concerns.
The Indian delegation, led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, is expected to adopt a “constructive, balanced and development-oriented” approach. An official press statement said that Delhi will emphasize strengthening the multilateral trading system while ensuring that development issues remain central to the negotiations.
A top priority for India will be to provide a permanent Public Stock Holding (PSH) solution for food security, a critical issue given the country’s reliance on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system to support low-income farmers. India is also expected to push for effective Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions for developing and least developed countries and for the restoration of a fully functional WTO dispute settlement mechanism.
In terms of fisheries subsidies, the country will pursue a balanced framework that addresses sustainability while protecting the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. It is also likely to require greater responsibility from countries fishing in distant waters in reducing their capacity on a large scale.
It will also highlight the need for policy space in emerging areas such as digital commerce, especially in the context of the ongoing debate on extending the moratorium on e-commerce. Countries argue that rapidly evolving technologies require flexible regulatory approaches for developing economies.
Investment and bilateral trade agreements
In terms of investment facilitation, India is expected to promote measures to help channel investment flows to developing countries, including LDCs.
Prior to the conference, India had consistently emphasized the importance of an open, fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory trading system rooted in WTO principles such as non-discrimination under the Marrakesh Agreement.
In addition to multilateral discussions, it will also use the margin of MC14 to promote bilateral trade commitments. Recent progress includes free trade agreements with the United Kingdom and Oman, as well as ongoing negotiations with partners such as the European Union and New Zealand, the statement said.
The statement further added that these bilateral meetings will provide an opportunity to review trade ties, discuss outstanding issues and build momentum for future agreements, while strengthening India’s broader commitment to the rules-based global trading system.
