The trade minister of New Delhi stated on Wednesday that India will only finalize new agreements at a ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the US stops obstructing a deal on a dispute resolution mechanism.
At the WTO’s 13th ministerial meeting, which is taking place in Abu Dhabi, delegates are looking for advancements on topics including agriculture and fisheries.
On the other hand, Indian Minister Piyush Goyal informed AFP that his nation would not “finalize” any new deals unless the dispute-settlement mechanism advanced.
“It’s critical that we address the need for an appellate body as soon as possible, as some nations are preventing it from happening,” he stated.
2019 saw Washington put an end to WTO dispute settlement after years of obstructing the nomination of new judges to the WTO’s appeals court.
“The entire working of WTO currently has come to a little bit of a standstill,” Goyal declared.
As per the WTO’s regulations, new accords require complete unanimity among its 164 member states.
Goyal stated, “I think it’s important that the issues that are related to the past and have been discussed for a long time be addressed first. The appellate body is one of those issues that is very important.”
Goyal continued, “Only then can we look at newer other issues in the future.”
Washington said that the appellate panel had overinterpreted WTO regulations and that judges’ rulings shouldn’t conflict with a nation’s national security.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated this week that the organization is now advocating for a dispute resolution reform that will establish a “fair” system rather than duplicate the shortcomings of the previous body.
Member states agreed to hold talks on the dispute settlement system “with a view to having a fully operational system by 2024” during the most recent WTO ministerial meeting in 2022.
However, not much has changed, which is frustrating given that Donald Trump may be reelected to the US presidency in November.
Goyal responded, “It should be considered fixed, due to until that is set every other choice is only a paper decision” that can’t be implemented when asked if the matter should have been settled during the Abu Dhabi conference.
