New Delhi: India has opposed at the World Trade Organization ( WTO) the China-led proposal for an ' investment facilitation for development agreement', which seeks to put in place a pre-investment review or appeal system through an independent body to screen all investments. At a General Council Meeting on October 7, India cited systemic and legal implications of the proposal and said the supporters of the proposal had tried to exert pressure rather than meaningfully engage on the issue.
A group of more than 120 WTO members want to bring the proposal through Annex-4 of the organisation under which the proposal would be binding on only the signatory members and not on those who are opposed to it. While all decisions at the WTO happen through consensus, the body also allows member countries to form a group and have agreements among themselves.
India cautioned against attempts to bring a non-mandated and non-multilateral issue to the formal process in the WTO in violation of the body's framework.
"India also urged the WTO Secretariat to be neutral on issues under discussion amongst members," said an official, who did not wish to be identified.
Ahead of the 14th ministerial conference of the WTO next year, India also said that the multilateral trading system had been stressed in recent times because of various tariff and non-tariff unilateral measures and export control which create distortions wherein the developing countries are being further forced and give up more, officials said.
Emphasising on a detailed stocktaking of the previous ministerial conference mandates, especially on agriculture related issues of permanent stockholding, special safeguard mechanism and cotton, India insisted that any reform-related discussion had to consider past discussions on reform, starting from the Doha Development Agenda.
On WTO reform, India stressed on a fully functional two-tier dispute settlement mechanism and preserving its fundamentals of consensus-based decision making, member-driven character and the principle of special and differential treatment.
"At the moment, the process and understanding on WTO reform lack clarity for obvious reasons and we do not anticipate the facilitator to provide clarity through his understanding where there exists none," India said, adding that the process should not be rushed.
A group of more than 120 WTO members want to bring the proposal through Annex-4 of the organisation under which the proposal would be binding on only the signatory members and not on those who are opposed to it. While all decisions at the WTO happen through consensus, the body also allows member countries to form a group and have agreements among themselves.
India cautioned against attempts to bring a non-mandated and non-multilateral issue to the formal process in the WTO in violation of the body's framework.
"India also urged the WTO Secretariat to be neutral on issues under discussion amongst members," said an official, who did not wish to be identified.
Ahead of the 14th ministerial conference of the WTO next year, India also said that the multilateral trading system had been stressed in recent times because of various tariff and non-tariff unilateral measures and export control which create distortions wherein the developing countries are being further forced and give up more, officials said.
Emphasising on a detailed stocktaking of the previous ministerial conference mandates, especially on agriculture related issues of permanent stockholding, special safeguard mechanism and cotton, India insisted that any reform-related discussion had to consider past discussions on reform, starting from the Doha Development Agenda.
On WTO reform, India stressed on a fully functional two-tier dispute settlement mechanism and preserving its fundamentals of consensus-based decision making, member-driven character and the principle of special and differential treatment.
"At the moment, the process and understanding on WTO reform lack clarity for obvious reasons and we do not anticipate the facilitator to provide clarity through his understanding where there exists none," India said, adding that the process should not be rushed.
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