13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO: Multiple narratives need not perplex us
Rashomon, the classic 1954 film by Japanese director Akiro Kurosawa, narrates four different perspectives of a crime. The Rashomon Effect aptly applies to varying accounts of the recently concluded 13th Ministerial Conference (MC-13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with much commentary in the Western media holding India as a spoiler even as Indian write-ups provided justification for the country’s positions. All this, while geopolitical shifts have resulted in strategic economic partnerships worldwide overshadowing the WTO.
Ten days after MC-13 ended, the signing of the India-EFTA trade deal on 10 March marked India’s fourth significant free trade agreement (FTA) in recent times, following the deals with Australia, the UAE and Mauritius. India’s engagement with the US-led Indo- Pacific Economic Framework, Quad security partnership and Critical Minerals Partnership, in addition to FTA negotiations with the UK and EU, are among the other significant ties being worked on. Those partnerships, however, are not a substitute for the WTO, now in its 29th year of existence.
The fact that 166 countries, representing over 98% of global trade and GDP, came together and committed themselves to hard negotiations over 5 days for MC-13 is in itself a vote of confidence in multilateralism. The WTO’s agreements cover goods, services and intellectual property, apart from a framework for settling disputes, and M-13 featured several contentious issues on which greater clarity will be needed to ensure outcomes at the next meeting. E-commerce moratorium: A commitment to not place customs duties on e-commerce has been extended by two years.
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