Leading the Indian delegation on the opening day of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Abu Dhabi, Union Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal cautioned member countries that mixing non-trade topics with WTO rules can lead to greater trade fragmentation.
Speaking at the second session on Trade and Inclusion, he pointed out that bringing issues like Gender and MSMEs into the realm of WTO discussions was not practical since they're already being discussed in other relevant international organizations.
Stressing that issues like inclusion are better addressed through contextual and targeted national measures and do not fall in the domain of international trade relations, India submitted that non-trade issues have the potential to encourage trade distortive subsidies and non-trade barriers, and expressed concerns over their negative spillover effect on the trade interests of developing countries.
While India recounted several measures undertaken by its government for greater inclusion of MSMEs and women, especially through the use of Digital Public Infrastructure, it assured the global fraternity that there is a continued focus on bringing about economic transformation in these segments of the economy.
Assuring its unwavering commitment to multilateralism and the importance of adhering to the rules-based global trading system, India welcomed the expansion of the WTO as Comoros and Timor Leste acceded to the global trade body.
In the session on sustainable development and policy space for industrialisation, India highlighted the need to avoid fragmentation of the multilateral trading system and the importance of remaining focused rather than mixing non-trade issues with the WTO agenda.
Expressing serious concerns on the increasing use of trade protectionist unilateral measures, which are sought to be justified in the guise of environmental protection, India asserted that the developing countries want an appropriate policy space to find solutions to their concerns, some of which have been unaddressed for a long time.
India said it was of the firm view that developing countries require flexibility in the existing WTO agreements to overcome the constraints faced by them in their industrialisation.
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