Knowledge Nugget: WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaounde— all you need to know

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Let’s look at the important issues to be discussed this year, previous MCs, and the role and function of the WTO.

Key takeaways:

The Ministerial Conference is the topmost decision-making body of the WTO, which usually meets every two years. According to the WTO, “It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.”

Flashpoint at the 14th WTO

1. Moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions 

There was no agreement to extend the e-commerce moratorium at the 14th MC.

— India opposed a key US-led WTO proposal seeking a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. It has been renewed every two years since it was first instituted in 1998. India has been arguing against any extension to the moratorium because digital trade has been dominated by big tech and developed countries, and the moratorium squarely favours the developed nations.

— The moratorium on e-commerce transition refrains countries from imposing customs duties on digital transmissions such as downloads, streaming content, cloud services and other data-based services.

— According to a WTO report, digitally delivered services exports have touched about $5 trillion, nearly double the level they had reached in 2017. Experts say that India loses about $1 billion in tax revenue annually by foregoing duty on e-transmission.

— “With no agreement, the moratorium lapsed for the first time in 26 years, opening the door for countries to impose tariffs on digital transmissions,” GTRI Founder Ajay Shrivastava said, adding most gains from waiving such duties accrue to top U.S. tech firms, including Google and Meta.

2. Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement

It was not adopted at the Conference.

— The conference included a request to incorporate the IFD Agreement into the Marrakesh Agreement, which led to the WTO’s formation in 1995. The IFD is formulated as a plurilateral agreement, “welcoming all Members to join, and binding only on those participating Members,” according to the factsheet.

— India has argued that incorporating the IFD through a plurilateral route raises broader questions about the WTO’s future, which is traditionally based on multilateralism and consensus. India argues that plurilaterals undermine the balance of interests in WTO negotiations between developed and developing countries. It warns such deals could sideline issues like farm subsidies and create a two-tier WTO dominated by major economies.

— The IFD agreement aims to improve the investment climate and promote international cooperation to facilitate the flow of foreign direct investment among WTO members. In particular, it focuses on developing and Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and fostering sustainable development. It focuses on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

3. Public Stockholding (PSH) programme

— The MC13 ended with no decision on key issues of India’s interest including finding a permanent solution to public food Public Stockholding (PSH) programme and on curbing fisheries subsidies that lead to over-capacity and over fishing. This will remain a key issue this year as well.

— The PSH programme is a policy tool under which the government procures crops like rice and wheat from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP), stores and distributes foodgrains to the poor. As part of a permanent solution, India has asked for measures like amendments in the formula to calculate the food subsidy cap.

— Developing nations, including India, were asking for updating the external reference prices used to calculate market price support in public stockholding, which are currently based on 1986-88 reference prices.

There was no consensus on a comprehensive WTO reform package. While there’s broad agreement on the need for reforms on issues including decision-making, dispute settlement, and development, member countries couldn’t agree on how to proceed. 

Previous Ministerial Conference

MC13: The 13th MC of WTO took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 26 February to 2 March 2024. A few important outcomes of MC13: New disciplines on domestic regulation for services, formal joining of Comoros and Timor-Leste as members of the WTO, and least developing countries continuing to get the benefits of LDC even three years after graduation.

MC 12: The MC 12 took place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva from 12 to 17 June 2022. The conference was scheduled to be hosted in June 2020 by  Kazakhstan, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, MC-12 proved to be a successful Ministerial Conference as it resulted in outcomes in different areas after 7 years.

After negotiations for 21 years, WTO members agreed on an Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) during MC12 which sets new global rules to curb harmful subsidies and protect global fish stocks in a manner that also recognizes the needs of fishers in developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). At MC14, ministers agreed to continue negotiations on fisheries subsidies.

MC 11: It took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 10 to 13 December 2017. It ended in stalemate as member-nations failed to set aside differences on issues ranging from the role of the trade body as a multilateral institution to public procurement programmes for food security, marking the closure of the biannual event without a joint declaration.

About WTO:

— The World Trade Organization is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries. Founded in 1995, the WTO is run by its 166 members, and according to its rules, all decisions are taken through consensus, and any member can exercise a veto. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the seventh Director-General of the WTO. She is the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General.

— Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states. The WTO also provides a forum for countries to negotiate trade rules and settle economic disputes between them.

— WTO’s Appellate Body, set up in 1995, is the standing committee that presides over appeals against judgments passed in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members. It is a standing body of seven persons which requires at least three members to function. However, due to lack of consensus in appointment of Appellate Body it has been dysfunctional.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Reports published by the WTO

1. World Trade Report: A wide range of publications related to trade-related issues are produced by the WTO. The World Trade Report is published by the WTO. According to the World Trade Report 2025 titled Making trade and AI work together to the benefit of all, artificial intelligence could boost the value of trade in goods and services by nearly 40% by 2040, but without adequate policies it could also exacerbate economic divides.

2. Global Trade Outlook and Statistics: It analyzes recent global trade developments and presents the organization’s forecasts for merchandise trade volume. According to the March 2026 edition, the prospects for trade in 2026 and 2027 were improving, with GDP projections and trade-related indicators receiving modest upgrades; however, the recent conflict in the Middle East has cast doubt on the near-term outlook for the global economy.

Post Read Question

Consider the following reports:

1. World Trade Report

2. Global Risk Report

3. World Development Report

4. Global Trade Outlook Report

How many of the above-mentioned reports is/are published by the WTO?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

(Sources: WTO.org, India set to oppose US proposal seeking permanent ban on e-transmission duties)

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