WTO officials at the secretary level of commerce will gather in Geneva on October 23 and 24
A government official said that the 164 WTO members would convene in Geneva on October 23 and 24 to examine problems that may be decided upon at the ministerial meeting in February of next year. Sunil Barthwal, the secretary of commerce, and Peeyush Kumar, an additional secretary in the ministry, will represent India.
According to the source, among the topics India is anticipated to bring up are the fisheries subsidy deal, changes to the WTO’s dispute body, a ban on e-commerce, and issues relating to agriculture. “A vice-ministers meeting will take place in Geneva on October 23–24 before the ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. The discussions will be attended by secretaries from each of the 164 member nations, the person added.
The WTO’s highest governing body is the ministerial conference (MC). The multilateral organization with its headquarters in Geneva works with international standards for imports and exports and resolves trade disputes among its members. On June 17, 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) members obtained the “Geneva Package,” which contained agreements to reduce damaging fishing subsidies and temporarily forgo patent protection for COVID-19 vaccine manufacture.
The official stated that the fisheries subsidies contract only applies to illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing and that the complete agreement would be available for debate. The 2022 MC also decided that the next MC will resolve the problem of the ongoing ban on the imposition of customs charges on electronic transfer of products.
India is adamantly opposed to the maintenance of this prohibition since it has a negative effect on developing nations. New Delhi is anticipated to object once again to any extension of the MC in Abu Dhabi.
India has asked for a lasting solution to the problem of public stockholding for the sake of food security in the agro sector. India has requested changes to the methodology used to determine the food subsidy ceiling as well as the inclusion of programs started after 2013 under the “Peace Clause” as part of a long-term solution.
Additionally, India has requested SSM (special safeguard mechanism), which tries to shield small-scale and impoverished farmers against an increase in imports or a sharp drop in prices. The WTO’s agricultural discussions include a wide range of issues, such as domestic assistance, market access, export competition, export limitations, cotton, public stockholding for food security reasons, special safeguard mechanism, and the overarching issue of transparency.
In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the week of February 26, 2024, the 13th MC will take place.
