{"id":124851,"date":"2026-09-17T11:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=124851"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:56:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:26:47","slug":"plurilateral-trade-agreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/plurilateral-trade-agreements\/","title":{"rendered":"Plurilateral Trade Agreements: Is India\u2019s BRICS Declaration a Policy Shift?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Plurilateral Trade Agreements Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has consistently opposed plurilateral trade agreements at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), insisting that trade rules be negotiated by all members.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/new-delhi-declaration-2\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>2026 BRICS New Delhi Declaration<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, issued under India&#8217;s chairship, says members recognise the importance of identifying &#8220;pathways&#8221; for plurilateral initiatives to enter the WTO legal framework.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This comes just months after India blocked such pacts at the WTO&#8217;s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon in March 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What Plurilateral Agreements Are<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A plurilateral agreement is a trade deal among a group of WTO members rather than the full membership.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key features:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Countries that join must follow its rules; non-members are generally not bound.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the Marrakesh Agreement, a plurilateral pact can be added to the WTO rulebook (Annex 4) only by consensus of all members.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A multilateral agreement, by contrast, involves the entire WTO membership negotiating rules together.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why India Opposes Plurilaterals<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s objections are systemic rather than issue-specific:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plurilaterals could let a group of powerful or interested countries create new rules without everyone&#8217;s participation, which is especially risky for developing countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WTO members should first agree on common safeguards, or &#8220;guardrails&#8221;, for all plurilateral agreements before any single one is added to the rulebook.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding one agreement first and deciding broader rules later sets a dangerous precedent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The clearest test case is the China-backed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/investment-facilitation-for-development-ifd\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Investment Facilitation for Development<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (IFD) agreement, launched by the WTO in 2017 to enhance FDI flows.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At MC14, India blocked its inclusion as an Annex 4 agreement, arguing that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incorporating IFD risks eroding the WTO&#8217;s foundational principles and functional limits.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investment is not a core trade issue.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Members must first agree on legal safeguards for plurilaterals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As many as 129 members support IFD, leaving India as the primary holdout.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India&#8217;s Objection to the E-Commerce Agreement<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has also questioned the Western-backed Agreement on Electronic Commerce (ECA).\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ECA is the world&#8217;s first baseline set of global digital trade rules, designed to streamline and secure cross-border digital transactions among participating WTO members.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a recent letter to the WTO, India challenged the legal basis for the Director-General acting as depositary of the ECA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India pointed out that consensus to add the agreement to Annex 4 was not reached on two occasions and asked on what institutional basis the &#8220;interim arrangements&#8221; were operating.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the WTO Secretariat, 66 members covering about 70 per cent of global trade have adopted a pathway to bring the ECA into force through interim arrangements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Pressure on India at the Trade Policy Review<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several countries targeted India&#8217;s stance during its trade policy review last month:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Canada most prominently opposed India&#8217;s position on plurilaterals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EU noted that India has benefited significantly from global trade integration and urged it to see plurilaterals as an opportunity to shape the WTO agenda rather than a threat to multilateralism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gambia and Costa Rica asked India to withdraw its opposition to IFD.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Others urged India to join plurilaterals on fossil fuel subsidy reform, plastics pollution and environmentally sustainable plastics trade.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What the BRICS Declaration Says<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New Delhi Declaration commits BRICS members to implementing MC14 outcomes, engaging constructively in WTO reform, and identifying appropriate pathways for plurilateral initiatives into the WTO legal framework, including on development-oriented issues, while exploring forward-looking rules.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notably, the term &#8220;<\/span><b>guardrails&#8221; is absent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the declaration despite India holding the chair.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts warn that plurilaterals cannot work for development issues: if developed countries do not join a plurilateral on food security or farm subsidy reduction, the outcome will be meaningless. Such issues must remain multilateral.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The declaration also:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strongly advocates immediate restoration of a fully functioning, two-tier binding WTO dispute settlement mechanism and appointment of Appellate Body members without delay.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supports Ethiopia and Iran&#8217;s bid for WTO accession.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acknowledges China&#8217;s expansion of zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why It Matters for India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The direct implication could be India lifting its reservation on IFD, a significant policy shift.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two sectors are particularly relevant:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Services:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India has a huge IT and business services industry. If new international services rules emerge, India needs a seat at the table.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Digital trade:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> With over 60 members moving ahead on e-commerce rules through interim arrangements, staying out risks India being bound later by rules it did not shape.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The BRICS declaration signals a subtle softening in India&#8217;s opposition to plurilaterals, driven by mounting international pressure and the risk of isolation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet the missing &#8220;guardrails&#8221; language and the systemic concerns about IFD and e-commerce remain unresolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India must balance openness to shaping new trade rules against protecting the consensus-based multilateralism that safeguards developing countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/india-wto-plurilateral-agreements-brics-2026-10879059\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbctv18.com\/india\/india-and-wto-deals-why-new-delhi-is-rethinking-its-stand-on-plurilateral-trade-agreements-19991843.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CNBC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plurilateral trade agreements are gaining attention as India\u2019s BRICS declaration signals possible flexibility while concerns over WTO consensus and safeguards remain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":124904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,10298,22,59],"class_list":["post-124851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-mains-articles","tag-plurilateral-trade-agreements","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124851"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124910,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124851\/revisions\/124910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}