{"id":70920,"date":"2026-04-06T18:04:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=70920"},"modified":"2026-04-06T18:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:36:14","slug":"trade-multilateralism-wto-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-04-2026\/trade-multilateralism-wto-crisis","title":{"rendered":"Challenges to Trade Multilateralism amid WTO Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The World Trade Organization\u2019s Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14), held in Yaound\u00e9, highlighted growing divisions and institutional weaknesses within the WTO.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trade multilateralism<\/strong> is facing its most serious challenge since the post-Second World War era.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Breakdown of Key Moratoriums<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>End of E-Commerce Moratorium:<\/strong> Since 1998, WTO members had agreed not to impose customs duties on digital trade.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>MC14 failed to extend this moratorium, which lapsed on March 31, 2026.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Countries are now free to impose tariffs on electronic transmissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TRIPS Non-Violation Moratorium:<\/strong> It led to the<strong> expiry of the safeguard against non-violation complaints <\/strong>under the TRIPS Agreement.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The safeguard since <strong>1995<\/strong> has protected the policy space of developing countries. Without it, even <strong>WTO-compliant measures, such as compulsory licensing,<\/strong> can be challenged by developed countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For India, this increases the risk of disputes over <strong>Section 3(d)<\/strong> of the <strong>Indian Patents Act, 1970,<\/strong> which restricts patents for already-known drugs unless the new claims are superior in terms of efficacy. It curbs the evergreening of patents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deadlock on Plurilateral Agreements: <\/strong>The proposed Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement failed to be incorporated into the WTO framework.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India opposed its inclusion due to the absence of clear legal provisions for integrating plurilateral agreements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Broader Challenges Faced by WTO<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Erosion of Foundational Principles: <\/strong>Key principles such as <strong>Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment<\/strong> and <strong>Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) <\/strong>are increasingly being questioned.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Actions by countries like the United States reflect a shift towards unilateralism and selective rule adherence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Crisis in Dispute Settlement Mechanism: <\/strong>The WTO\u2019s dispute settlement system, particularly its appellate body, remains non-functional.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>MC14 failed to provide any roadmap for restoring this crucial mechanism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Without a credible dispute resolution system, enforcement of trade rules becomes ineffective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fragmentation of Global Trade Rules: <\/strong>The failure of WTO negotiations is pushing countries towards alternative arrangements such as;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bilateral agreements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regional trade blocs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plurilateral agreements outside WTO.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The future of global trade governance depends on the WTO\u2019s ability to adapt without compromising its foundational principles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A balanced approach combining reform, inclusivity, and strong political commitment is essential to restore faith in multilateralism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>World Trade Organization (WTO)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>WTO<\/strong> is the international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>History:<\/strong><strong>WTO <\/strong>is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Marrakesh Agreement<\/strong> establishing the World Trade Organization was signed by 123 countries in 1994, leading to the birth of the WTO on 1 January <strong>1995.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Headquarters:<\/strong> Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Member: <\/strong>The WTO is run by its 166 members.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mandate: <\/strong>Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states.\u00a0\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The preamble<\/strong> of the Marrakesh Agreement accords primacy to the developmental objectives of this organization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Organizational Structure of WTO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ministerial Conference: <\/strong>The WTO\u2019s apex decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which usually takes place every two years.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All members of the WTO are involved in the Ministerial Conference and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>General Council: <\/strong>It is just below the Ministerial Conference that meets several times a year at the WTO\u2019s headquarters in Geneva.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It meets as the <strong>Trade Policy Review Body<\/strong> and the <strong>Dispute Settlement Body.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council: <\/strong>It is for the Goods, Services, and Intellectual Property, and it reports to the General Council.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/the-world-trade-organization-is-flailing\/article70827294.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The World Trade Organization\u2019s Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14), held in Yaound\u00e9, highlighted growing divisions and institutional weaknesses within the WTO. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Breakdown of Key Moratoriums <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> End of E-Commerce Moratorium: Since 1998, WTO members had agreed not to impose customs duties on digital trade. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> MC14 failed to extend this moratorium, which lapsed on March 31, 2026. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Countries are now free to impose tariffs on electronic transmissions. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-04-2026\/trade-multilateralism-wto-crisis \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70928,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70920\/revisions\/70928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}