India bats for easier exit from WTO pacts; cautions against discussing non-trade issues

The WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) will go on till February 29 in Abu Dhabi

India pushed for greater flexibility for developing countries in exiting World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements to overcome constraints faced by them in industrialisation. India also expressed concerns about the concerted attempt to club long-standing development issues like policy space for industrial development with the new issues of “Trade and Industrial policy”.

Non-trade issues have the potential to encourage trade distortive subsidies and non-trade barriers and such measures and their impact on the interests of developing countries, it said.

The South Asian nation made this statement while participating in a session of the thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the WTO, which began in Abu Dhabi on February 26. On the opening day, the Indian delegation was led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal.

In the second session on Trade and Inclusion, Barthwal cautioned members that mixing non-trade topics with WTO rules can lead to greater trade fragmentation. Bringing issues like Gender and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into the realm of WTO discussions was not practical because these issues were being discussed in other relevant international organizations already.

This is in line with India's long-standing position to oppose discussions or establishment of mandates at the WTO on what the country considers non-trade issues such as MSME, environment and sustainability, and gender.

The country's primary task is keeping non-trade issues outside the ambit of the WTO at MC13. India is of the view that WTO should refrain from negotiating on these issues since forums like the United Nations are appropriate platforms to discuss such matters.

Specifically, New Delhi may prefer discussing bilaterally with the European Union (EU) regarding their carbon tax on imports of steel, iron ore, and cement, rather than at MC13. India is already engaged in bilateral discussions on the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in a bid to ease matters for the domestic industry.

The CBAM puts a price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU to encourage cleaner production in non-EU countries. This carbon tax requires importers, as of 2026, to purchase certificates equivalent to the carbon price. New Delhi believes any unilateral measures taken to combat climate change should not be a means of unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on global trade.

Though the WTO has informal working groups on MSMEs and gender, India has stayed out of them, citing that these issues are outside the WTO’s mandate.