India Focuses on Food Security, Fisheries at WTO MC14
India will continue to push for reforms of the global trade system at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), scheduled from March 26 to 29 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, along with Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal and a team of officials, will represent India, emphasizing protection of farmers and fisherfolk through its public stockholding programme for food security and fisheries subsidies.
The conference agenda includes WTO reforms, updates on dispute settlement reform, fisheries subsidies, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, the E-commerce Work Programme, agriculture, and development issues, including those of least developed countries. India is expected to defend its positions on special and differential treatment for developing nations and maintain its stance on public stockholding and farmer support measures.
MC14 also comes amid challenges to multilateral trade, including US tariffs and the paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body since December 2019. With 166 member countries, the WTO requires consensus for decisions, which often slows rule-making. The upcoming ministerial aims to address these systemic issues, alongside discussions on the rise of plurilateralism and the functioning of the dispute resolution system.
Pic courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright
