India blames US for stalling dispute settlement at WTO, blocks China’s investment deal efforts
ABU DHABI: Amid efforts to portray India as an “obstructor”, the government on Wednesday attacked the US for blocking appointments to the WTO Appellate Body. dispute settlement, and said it had damaged the credibility of the Geneva-based institution. Moreover, along with South Africa, it has virtually blocked a last-minute attempt by China and BRI supporting countries to push an agreement on investment facilitation at the ministerial meeting here, which it described as a non-trade issue. I see.
With each country sticking to its stand, the talks remain deadlocked with less than 24 hours left for the meeting to end. Discussions on the outcome document began on Wednesday after two days of “talks” on some complex issues, but an Indian negotiator acknowledged that there had been no change in stance by the key players. There is a possibility that the meeting, which is scheduled to conclude on Thursday evening, will go into additional time, although it is unlikely to extend beyond Friday afternoon.
The declining interest was reflected in the fact that the Chinese minister decided to return with more than a day left for the talks. Even WTO officials suggested that the failure of the talks would not be a blow to the multilateral organization, although it has failed to reach an agreement on the Doha Development Agenda for more than 22 years, as developed countries grapple with new issues. Trying to change the goal by including. Which India is opposing.
The government, which usually refuses to name the countries involved in the talks, on Wednesday made an exception in the case of the US. An official statement said, “…WTO members noted that the Appellate Body – the appellate branch of the dispute settlement system – has been non-functional since December 2019 due to the US blocking the appointment of its members.” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai ruled out any agreement on dispute resolution, while arguing that it should not be blamed.
The US side had earlier committed to finding a solution by 2024 and reiterated that the issue would be addressed in the remaining 10 months, but officials were skeptical as the US is scheduled to hold presidential elections in November. While the EU came together with an alternative formulation suggesting that members not challenge dispute settlement panel decisions on a voluntary basis, the proposal was rejected by India and others.
In the case of the investment facility – which found its way into discussions on development issues – India and South Africa have said that despite more than 120 countries agreeing to the agreement, there has been no official ratification. Furthermore, it is debatable whether this is a “trade issue”. In any case, any inclusion in the WTO framework would require “special consent”, which was only possible if the first two conditions were met.
With each country sticking to its stand, the talks remain deadlocked with less than 24 hours left for the meeting to end. Discussions on the outcome document began on Wednesday after two days of “talks” on some complex issues, but an Indian negotiator acknowledged that there had been no change in stance by the key players. There is a possibility that the meeting, which is scheduled to conclude on Thursday evening, will go into additional time, although it is unlikely to extend beyond Friday afternoon.
The declining interest was reflected in the fact that the Chinese minister decided to return with more than a day left for the talks. Even WTO officials suggested that the failure of the talks would not be a blow to the multilateral organization, although it has failed to reach an agreement on the Doha Development Agenda for more than 22 years, as developed countries grapple with new issues. Trying to change the goal by including. Which India is opposing.
The government, which usually refuses to name the countries involved in the talks, on Wednesday made an exception in the case of the US. An official statement said, “…WTO members noted that the Appellate Body – the appellate branch of the dispute settlement system – has been non-functional since December 2019 due to the US blocking the appointment of its members.” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai ruled out any agreement on dispute resolution, while arguing that it should not be blamed.
The US side had earlier committed to finding a solution by 2024 and reiterated that the issue would be addressed in the remaining 10 months, but officials were skeptical as the US is scheduled to hold presidential elections in November. While the EU came together with an alternative formulation suggesting that members not challenge dispute settlement panel decisions on a voluntary basis, the proposal was rejected by India and others.
In the case of the investment facility – which found its way into discussions on development issues – India and South Africa have said that despite more than 120 countries agreeing to the agreement, there has been no official ratification. Furthermore, it is debatable whether this is a “trade issue”. In any case, any inclusion in the WTO framework would require “special consent”, which was only possible if the first two conditions were met.
