India Strongly Objects To IFD Talks At WTO
India has strongly opposed the efforts of certain countries to introduce a proposal on investment facilitation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). India argues that the agenda falls outside the mandate of the global trade body and cannot be discussed in formal meetings.
During the General Council meeting of the WTO, which was held between 13 to 15 December, the Indian delegation stated that negotiations on investment do not belong to the WTO.
The statement further added that Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD), which is supposed to facilitate investment, is not related to multilateral trade relations. Investment, in itself, is not trade.
The delegation emphasised that investment covers a wide range of assets or enterprises subject to separate obligations.
The statement mentioned that due to the negative mandate, members who were interested in pursuing the issue of the Integrated Framework for Development (IFD) were unable to bring it up in a multilateral forum where consensus could be reached. As a result, some members started an informal process that lacked legal approval.
Now, at the end of this informal process, they are seeking consensus from other members, despite the fact that the foundation of this process was not built on consensus.
It is ironic that in the WTO, members are violating the treaty-embedded right to initiate consensus-based negotiations on mandated issues.
They are now seeking consensus from those very members whose treaty-embedded right was intentionally undermined in the first instance. This process is unrecognised and unlawful and it is a violation of the rights of members.
The General Council serves as the highest decision-making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the Ministerial Conference (MC).
The MC, which convenes once every two years, has scheduled its 13th meeting from 26 to 29 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Member countries such as Chile and Korea are pushing for a proposal, while India has raised serious concerns about bringing issues related to investment facilitation under the ambit of the WTO.
India has emphasised that such matters are bilateral and cannot be decided upon at multilateral forums. The following statement expresses concern over the proponents of IFD attempting to influence the WTO multilateral system in violation of rules. It states that TRIMS and GATS already address investment aspects of trade.
TRIMS deals with certain trade-related investment measures that can restrict and distort trade, while GATS deals with the supply of services through commercial presence in the territory of any other member, which is related to trade in services and not purely investment. India suggests that if some countries wish to negotiate on this subject, they should do it outside the formal structure of the WTO.
The document presented by certain countries is considered illegal and goes against the rules of a multilateral system. As a result, it should not be presented before the ministers. The trade ministers of 164 countries are scheduled to gather in Abu Dhabi for MC 13.
India is concerned that the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) proponents of the IFD are attempting to bring a non-mandated, non-multilateral issue to the formal process in the WTO. This would violate the WTO framework and the fundamental rule of consensus-based decision-making for starting a negotiation.
There has not been any specific Ministerial mandate for starting the negotiation process on investment-related matters, the statement added.
