WTO Plurilateral Agreements (Economy)
WTO Plurilateral Agreements (Economy)
Why In News:
At the 8th Trade Policy Review of India held at the WTO on 21 July 2026, the European Union urged India to lift its opposition to incorporating plurilateral agreements, such as the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement and the Agreement on Electronic Commerce, into the WTO's rulebook, a position India continues to resist along with a small group of other members.
Source: The Indian Express, Page 13, 23 July 2026, 'India & key WTO members remain at loggerhead on plurilateral pacts'
Key Terms
A plurilateral agreement is one negotiated among a subset of WTO members on a voluntary basis, as distinct from a multilateral agreement, which binds the entire WTO membership.
Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement (which established the WTO) lists plurilateral agreements; only two, the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, remain in force from the original four.
Adding a new agreement to Annex 4 requires a consensus decision of the Ministerial Conference under Article X.9 of the WTO Agreement.
India's Position and Key Facts
As of March 2026, only 8 of 166 WTO members, including India, South Africa, Cuba, Ghana, Jordan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, were not participating in the post-2017 plurilateral talks.
India and South Africa have argued in a joint communication that such plurilaterals, if adopted outside Annex 4's original four agreements, would be legally inconsistent with WTO rules.
India is a party to the WTO's Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and has ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), while remaining only an observer to the GPA and the Civil Aircraft Agreement.
Key Facts for Prelims
WTO: The World Trade Organization is an international body that sets and regulates the rules governing global trade among nations.
Formation: It was established through the Marrakesh Agreement in 1994 by 123 countries.
Scope: While GATT dealt only with trade in goods, the WTO covers goods, services, and intellectual property rights, including innovations, designs, and inventions.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
Membership: Comprises 166 countries, accounting for about 98% of global trade.
Key Bodies:
Ministerial Conference (MC): The highest decision-making authority.
Dispute Settlement Body (DSB): Responsible for resolving trade disputes among member countries.