WTO needs to reassess the way it conducts its affairs, says Piyush Goyal

There is a need for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reassess the way it has been conducting its affairs, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Global Economic Policy Summit, the minister said developed countries linking WTO reforms, with special and differential treatment (S&DT) being provided to poor and developing nations, was “unfair”. “The developed world must give the developing world the policy space to develop their economies and meet the needs of billions of people in this interconnected world,” he said.

S&DT provisions under the WTO allow developing and poor nations countries to enjoy certain benefits, including taking longer time periods for implementing agreements and binding commitments, and measures to increase trading opportunities for them. Currently, any WTO member nation can designate itself as a developing country and avail itself of these benefits.

While the US had submitted its suggestions to the WTO that self-declaration put the WTO on a path to failed negotiations, India believes that the matter needs to be negotiated comprehensively in the WTO and a consensus-based decision needs to be taken on S&DT.

“I think the WTO needs to reassess the way it has been conducting its affairs ... The problem is that the developed world starts with reforms (and) linked with whether S&DT should continue, that is the benefit that less developed countries and developing countries have over the developed countries ... little bit of benefit, most of it is any case dissipated ... and I think it’s so unfair,” Goyal said.

Discussion can happen on which country should be considered developing and which developed. Without mentioning any country, he said to deprive countries having a low per capita income from certain differentiated treatment and having the same benchmark for them as countries having a $60,000-80,000 per capita income was “grossly unfair”.

The minister also said there was a need for India to open up markets for products from other countries and engage with the world transparently and honestly.

With inputs from PTI