Underlining that consensus-based decision-making is the bedrock of the WTO’s legitimacy, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said it is important for the global body not to ignore the sovereign right of each member to not bind itself to rules which they do not agree to.
The Indian delegation was led by Special Secretary and Member (Customs), Surjit Bhujabal.
“Interacted with Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg,” Modi said in a post on X, highlighting the engagement.
The United States has historically championed free trade, particularly after World War II. It played a key role in establishing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and later the World Trade Organization (WTO) , both promoting reduced trade barriers.
The United States has rejected India's assertion at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that American tariffs on automobiles and auto parts qualify as safeguard measures under global trade rules.
India talked tough in Geneva. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in his remarks at the closed-door session at the 12th ministerial conference touched on the spiralling food inflation and the need for the agreement on food stockholding by the developing countries.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned food-producing countries against hoarding supplies and said it was vital to avoid a repeat of the Covid-19 pandemic, when rich countries were able to secure for themselves the bulk of vaccines, reports the Guardian.
The spokesperson said China and India were the opportunities of development for each other rather than strategic threats.
Observers do not expect the organization to settle on one candidate by the time Roberto Azevedo steps down in late August. If this is the case, a deputy director-general will be chosen for the post on an acting basis until a decision can be made. The leadership race comes amid deep dysfunction in an organization meant to be the guardian of free trade. Ever since President Trump assumed office in 2017, he has blasted the WTO as unfair to Washington, particularly regarding American trade disputes with China.
Amid growing concern across the world that Chinese companies are buying distressed assets hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government on Saturday reviewed the extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies.
