Restoration of fully functional dispute settlement system of WTO top-most priority, says India
WTO) is the «top-most» priority.
The appellate body of the system had been non-functional since December 2019 due to the blocking of the appointment of its members or judges by the US and this had called into question the WTO's overall credibility and the rules-based trade order it upholds.
This was flagged by India during the working session on Dispute Settlement (DS) Reforms, at the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference here. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal along with a high-level official team is attending the four-day conference which started on February 26.
«India emphatically called for the restoration of the appellate body as the top-most priority of any reform process, along for effective formalisation of the ongoing informal dispute settlement reform discussions among some members at the WTO,» an official statement said.
The WTO is discussing to undertake reforms in the dispute settlement system, which is described as a «Crown jewel» of the Geneva-based 166-member global trade watchdog.
India also wants formalisation of the ongoing «informal» dispute settlement reform discussions.
The informal deliberations are creating hindrance for several nations to participate in the talks and such discussions made it extremely difficult for developing countries to participate effectively.
«India reiterated its long-standing position that a credible and reliable WTO DS system is the bedrock of an equitable, effective, secure and predictable multilateral trading system,» it said.
