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.
Alleging that China has taken advantage of the United States for 30 years, he said, China has taken advantage of the US through WTO and using rules that are unfair to the United States.
The current foreign trade crisis has a faint silver lining. With China hamstrung because of the coronavirus scare, the present disruption can be an opportunity to expand our foreign trade, but only if we realise that the Indian economy is now strong enough to play a proactive role in world trade. Instead of fretting at being excluded from the list of developing countries, we should start behaving like a developed country, by taking on the US and China at their own game
The party said the US agenda will most adversely affect the interests of Indian farmers and agriculture, in particular the dairy and poultry sectors.
The agreements were signed after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil President Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on Sunday.
Other than receiving income for its annual budget, the WTO also manages a number of trust funds, which have been contributed by members.
