Trade ministers from 166 World Trade Organisation (WTO) members will deliberate on the challenges facing world trade, and the prospects for reform at the 14th WTO Ministerial Meeting, to be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from March 26-29. The discussions will focus on global trade architecture that has come under severe strain due to the unilateral tariff action of the world’s biggest trading country, the US.
Other than the tariff action of the past one year, the US has submitted a communication outlining reforms it would like to push at the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the WTO at Yaoundé in Cameroon from March 26-29. These appear to strike at the root of basic agreements and understanding on which the global trade regulatory system stands, trade experts said.
Indian delegation to the ministerial is led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal where key agenda items are WTO Reform, E-Commerce Work Programme and Moratorium, Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD), Fisheries Subsidies, and Agriculture and Development Issues.
Reciprocity Threat
The US on Monday proposed a rethink of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle. MFN is the bedrock of WTO which lays down that no member nation can impose country-specific tariffs. The US wants to introduce the element of reciprocity in the MFN principle without mentioning how it would be implemented. Its particular target is the free or preferential trade agreements, high bound tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
Another attack from the US concerns the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT), under which developing countries have lower reduction commitments on tariffs and subsidies. Some other countries in the developed bloc have backed the US call for wholesale changes in the WTO to deal with what they call weaponization of trade, state support in some economies leading to systemic imbalances and overcapacities.
Faced with the powerful bloc of developed countries, India will lead the charge for developing countries in maintaining effective S&DT for developing countries including Least Developed Countries.
Another strong push from the US is expected regarding the incorporation of plurilateral agreements into the WTO architecture. Plurilateral Agreements—among willing members of the WTO – are allowed at the WTO. However, to be included as a WTO agreement it needs consensus from all members, including those who want to stay out of it.
Currently at the WTO, there is a push for the inclusion of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement. India has opposed the use of plurilateral agreements as it would undermine the consensus approach the WTO has taken until now. Regarding IFD, India is of the view that the issue does not fall under trade. On the IFD agenda, India supports efforts that facilitate investment flows into developing countries including LDCs, a commerce ministry statement on Wednesday said.
India’s Non-Negotiable Agenda
On agriculture India is seeking a permanent solution on Public Stockholding (PSH) for food security purposes since over 99.4% of farmers in the country are low-income and resource-poor, making them dependent on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, which offers price stability and livelihood security.
The moratorium on taxation of electronic transmission has been in place since 1998 and has been extended every two years since at every MC as countries have not been able to reach a common ground even on the definition of e-transmissions. The issue of extending the moratorium will come up again at MC 14 even as the debate continues on whether e-commerce should cover content like movies, games and software, or also the medium that carries that content.
India has been highlighting that the digital economy is evolving rapidly; therefore, countries need policy space to effectively leverage these emerging technologies and shape trade in both goods and services in the future. The conference will also discuss the revival of the dispute settlement that is in limbo since December 2019.
MC 14 would also take stock of the agreement on limiting subsidies on fishing for environmental reasons. India has still not ratified the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies that came into force in September 2025.