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Developed countries, fearing Donald Trump’s victory, are pushing WTO agreements | Economic and political news

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India, however, is reluctant to join JSI efforts on fisheries and e-commerce

IN THAT

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The diplomat said India’s views were invariably driven not by the policies of others but by its own interests. Photo: Bloomberg

Asit Ranjan Mishra

Fearing that the re-election of Republican challenger Donald Trump in the November US presidential elections could paralyze the activities of the World Trade Organization (WTO), developed countries are pushing to conclude a joint e-commerce initiative (JSI) and fisheries agreements in the coming period. WTO General Council meeting in July. India, however, is not keen to join the effort.

“Members such as the US, European Union, UK, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan and South Korea are pushing to build consensus on JSI agreements on e-commerce and fisheries. It’s quite a turbulent situation at the moment. No document has been submitted yet,” said an Indian trade diplomat in Geneva, requesting anonymity. “These countries believe that if Trump wins, he will weaken the WTO. So they want some result before the November elections in the US,” the diplomat added.

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According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, Trump, with 41% of the vote, leads US President Joe Biden by 2 percentage points in the race to win the November election, despite his recent conviction.

On Friday, G7 leaders said in a communique after their summit in Puglia, Italy, that they remain united in their commitment to a rules-based, free and fair, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system underpinned by the WTO.

“We are committed to working towards a swift conclusion of the JSI negotiations on e-commerce… We also call for an ambitious and comprehensive agreement on global fisheries subsidies,” they added.

During his presidency, Trump frequently characterized the WTO as broken and unfair, threatening to withdraw the United States from the multilateral trading system unless it was significantly reformed. Trump also blocked nominations to the WTO’s appellate body, thus paralyzing the organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.

The diplomat said India’s views were invariably driven not by the policies of others but by its own interests. “Our concerns about fishing remain where they were. We are not part of JSI for e-commerce; we are just an observer,” the official added.

An email inquiry sent to the trade ministry remained unanswered by press time.

At the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February, WTO member states failed to reach a consensus on subsidies for fishermen that result in overfishing. India has insisted that any comprehensive agreement on fisheries subsidies should be based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

India also believes that developing countries should be allowed to continue subsidizing poor fishermen to catch fish in exclusive economic zones – up to 200 nautical miles beyond territorial waters. Additionally, he urged developed countries fishing outside the zone to stop providing any subsidies for the next 25 years.

India opposes multilateral agreements such as the JSI on e-commerce, preferring a multilateral approach to e-commerce negotiations within the existing WTO framework. India is concerned about preserving its policy space to regulate the e-commerce sector. It wants to make sure it maintains flexibility in developing national regulations that support local businesses and protect consumer interests.

The JSI e-commerce co-hosts Australia, Japan and Singapore said in an April statement that they would take the necessary steps to take the results into account in the WTO framework in July.

WHY THE HURRY

Developed countries believe that if Donald Trump becomes US president again, he will weaken the WTO

During his earlier term, Trump described the WTO as broken and unfair and blocked nominations to the appellate body

At last week’s G7 meeting, leaders said they remain united in their commitment to a multilateral trading system underpinned by the WTO