New Delhi, March 25 Protecting the livelihoods of small farmers and fishermen while safeguarding policy space for developing economies in emerging areas such as digital trade will remain central to India's position at the four-day WTO ministerial meeting beginning in Cameroon from March 26.
Trade ministers of 166 member countries, including India, China, and the US, will gather at the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, a central African country on the Gulf of Guinea, to discuss issues pertaining to agriculture, e-commerce, and fisheries.
The ministers will discuss ways to address critical trade issues affecting the global economy, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Indian delegation will be led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and will include senior officials from the Commerce Department and the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva.
"The need to respect the multilateral mandate of the WTO, prioritizing food security, protecting the livelihood concerns of millions including small farmers and fishers in developing countries, and ensuring adequate policy space for developing economies in emerging areas such as digital trade will remain the cornerstones of India's stance on the agenda," it said.
In the run up to MC14, India has been emphasising the need for an open, fair, inclusive, and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
The ministerial conference is the highest decision-making body of the Geneva-based WTO. It meets every two years. The last MC was held in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting is important as global trade has been disrupted by sweeping tariffs by the US and the West Asia crisis. The key agenda items that are scheduled for discussion are WTO reform; e-commerce work programme and moratorium; investment facilitation for development (IFD); fisheries subsidies; and agriculture and development issues.
WTO REFORM
India to support meaningful WTO reform that strengthens the multilateral trading system while keeping development concerns at the centre.
ECOMMERCE
India has been highlighting that the digital economy is evolving rapidly, with a lot of technological unknowns in the age of AI (artificial intelligence) and emerging technologies.
"Therefore, countries need policy space in order to effectively leverage these emerging technologies and shape trade in both goods and services in the future," the ministry said.
India has consistently shared its concerns on the issue of moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
A re-consideration of the moratorium is critical for developing countries, most importantly to preserve policy space and achieve domestic industrialisation. "We do not support the extension of the moratorium," India has recently stated this in December 2025 in a general council meeting of the WTO.
There is a need to discuss the scope of moratorium as there are revenue implications because of it. As per estimates, the potential tariff revenue losses to the developing countries are about USD 10 billion every year. For India, it could be over USD 500 million every year.
The World Trade Organisation members have agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions since 1998 and the moratorium has been periodically extended at successive ministerial conferences.
India is witnessing a rise in imports of electronic transmissions, mainly of items like movies, music, video games, and printed matter, some of which could fall within the scope of the moratorium.
India has also expressed its deep concerns regarding Joint Statement Initiatives (JSIs) including the JSI on E-Commerce. India maintains that the JSI on E-Commerce fragments the multilateral trading system and erodes the foundational principles that the WTO is built on.
INVESTMENT FACILITATION FOR DEVELOPMENT (IFD) AGREEMENT
India supports efforts that facilitate investment flows into developing countries including LDCs.
At the MC13 in Abu Dhabi, India had strongly opposed the move led by countries such as China to push a proposal on investment facilitation at the WTO.
A China-led group of 128 countries is pushing for the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) proposal. The proposal will be binding for only the signatory members.
The IFD was first mooted in 2017 by China and other countries that depend heavily on Chinese investments, and countries with sovereign wealth funds are party to that pact. There are major differences among member countries on the proposal.
AGRICULTURE
India is seeking a permanent solution to the public stock holding (PSH) issues as per the existing mandate that is pending for more than a decade now. India has on multiple occasions asked to expedite the decision on PSH.
The ministry said that a permanent solution on PSH for food security purposes is critical for India since over 99.4 per cent of farmers in the country are low income and resource poor, making them dependent on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, which offers price stability and livelihood security.
FISHERIES SUBSIDIES
India has been emphasising the need for negotiation on fisheries subsidies, on maintaining a balance between sustainable fishing and the livelihoods of fishers.
"India has been reiterating that distant water fishing nations should undertake proportionate fishing responsibilities which requires them to progressively reduce their distant water fishing capacities including a moratorium on fishing subsidies at least for 25 years," the commerce ministry said.
It added that India has on multiple times highlighted the importance of effective Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries including LDCs, and restoration of an automatic and binding dispute settlement mechanism which is critical for enforcing the WTO's rules under its agreements.
It also said that India's free trade agreements (FTAs) are WTO-compliant, and it respects the multilateral rules-based order.
"Currently, around 7 FTA negotiations are underway with various partner countries," it said.
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