The WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference ' Finding Order In Times Of Chaos?

• Published date: 11 March 2024
• Subject Matter: International Law, International Trade & Investment
• Law Firm: Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
• Author: Jayant Raghu Ram

Introduction

At the time of writing this article, representatives of 164 Members of the World Trade Organization ('WTO') have gathered for the 13^th Ministerial Conference ('MC 13') in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to hammer out a deal on international trade issues relevant to the future of the multilateral trading system. Coincidentally, the talks in the Middle East are taking place at a time when the geopolitical climate of this very region is in a turmoil due to the Israel-Hamas war and the attacks on international cargo ships traversing the Red Sea.

For developing countries like India for whom the issue of food security is very important, the talks at MC 13 assume significance given that the legacy issue of a permanent solution for public stockholding is on the table. MC 13 will also be important as other important topics such as the Agreement on Investment Facilitation and the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will also be on the table.

This article intends to provide an overview of some of the key issues for negotiation at MC 13 and the importance of these issues for WTO Members.

Agreement on Investment Facilitation and Development

One of the keenly anticipated topics of negotiation will be the Agreement on Investment Facilitation and Development, which contains provisions intended to support facilitation of cross-border investments. The agreement, the text of which was finalized in November last year, is intended by some WTO Members to be included as a plurilateral agreement, which means that the provisions of this agreement will be binding only on those WTO Members who sign this agreement.

While the agreement is seen by some Members as promoted by China to further its belt-and-road initiative, major economies like India and South Africa have firmly opposed the inclusion of such agreements at the WTO citing the absence of an express mandate from the Ministerial Conference.

This difference in viewpoint has reopened the debate on whether the WTO, as a platform for negotiating trade issues, is appropriate for negotiating investment issues. It remains to be seen how negotiations on including this agreement at the WTO will take shape.

Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

One of the key outcomes of the last Ministerial Conference, MC 12, was the conclusion of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which was under negotiation for over 15 years till it finally saw the light of the day. Though this agreement is yet to come into force, as...