Protectionism to take centre stage at Abu Dhabi WTO meet
NEW DELHI : A record number of World Trade Organization (WTO) members have raised concerns about rising protectionist moves in global trade, propelling the issue to centre stage at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi in February, an official aware of the development said. Many developing nations, including India, are set to oppose the European Union’s (EU’s) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that aims to tax imports of carbon-intensive products such as steel, aluminium, cement, and electricity. The EU is also expected to file a complaint against the US’s Inflation Reduction Act because the $430 billion subsidy to manufacturers of green technology will distort international prices and is against WTO norms.
In addition, escalating trade tensions between the US and China have seen China restricting exports of gallium and germanium—metals crucial to semiconductor manufacturing—and the US prohibiting Chinese investment in sensitive sectors such as computer chips and other technology sectors. Trade tensions are flaring globally due to the crisis in WTO’s dispute settlement body. The top court is not functional since 2019 as the US is blocking appointments to the appellate body on the grounds that its concerns about the dispute system remain unaddressed.
Experts said the US is keeping the body dysfunctional to counter China’s influence at WTO, which has hit the organisation’s most crucial role of enforcing multilateral trade rules. “MC13 is happening against the backdrop of a fundamental shift in trade. Bilateralism and domestic protectionism are increasing, which was never the case since the start of WTO.
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