9 - The WTO and North–South Bargains

Summary

Historically, India's position vis-à-vis the WTO has been to argue that the WTO is an instrument of the North and to resist virtually its every move. Thus, before the Ministerial Meeting at Doha, the Indian government's line was to oppose the launching of a new trade round, resist the liberalization of trade in industrial products, and oppose the use of trade sanctions to punish countries that fail to meet minimal labour standards.

The perception that the WTO is largely an instrument of powerful industrialized nations is correct, but India's response to this, namely, opposing it on all fronts, is wrong. We must learn to take a more sophisticated line towards the WTO and the North in general. We can hope to gain much at the fifth ministerial meeting, projected to take place in Mexico in 2003, if we do so.

Spokespersons for the WTO will tell you that it is a democratic organization that runs on the principle of ‘one country one vote’. But anybody who has been following the goings-on at the WTO knows that the way the rich countries get around this ‘nuisance’ is through the ‘green room’ channel, to wit, the lobbying behind the scenes to fix the agenda in advance.

While all this is true, India's response to it is wrong for several reasons.

First, it is important to recognize that in today's globalized world, with complex trading arrangements and disputes, we cannot do without a centralized ombudsman.