India and World Trade: Why Experts Want Open Trade, a Stronger WTO and a More Active Indian Role
At a recent discussion, trade experts said India's fast economic growth needs its home priorities to be better matched with its positions in international trade talks and agreements.
They stressed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) still matters a great deal because it sets the common rules of global trade.
Experts said India should take an active part in the multilateral trading system (rules agreed by all countries together), while also signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with individual partners.
They also said India could bring its own ideas on sustainability (environment-friendly growth) into global trade rules.
The discussion comes after the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2026, ended without agreement on key issues.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization, or WTO, is the only global body that makes and enforces rules for trade between countries. Its members agree on rules such as how high their import taxes can be and how they must treat each other's goods and services. When countries disagree, the WTO also has a system to settle their trade disputes. India has been a member from the very first day.
Experts want India to strengthen the WTO because rules agreed by all members protect developing countries better than deals driven by a few big economies. MC14's deadlock shows why a more active Indian role in reform is being discussed.
Free Trade Agreements: Concept and WTO Framework
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a deal between two or more countries to remove or sharply cut import taxes (tariffs) on most of the goods they trade with each other. Each country still keeps its own tariffs for countries outside the deal. Normally, WTO rules say a country must treat all members equally, but FTAs are an allowed exception. Modern FTAs also cover services, investment and other areas.
Experts said India should pursue FTAs alongside the WTO, not instead of it. FTAs open specific markets fast, while the WTO keeps a common rulebook for all trade partners.
WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism
The WTO dispute settlement mechanism is the system the WTO uses to settle trade fights between member countries. When one country feels another's trade rule breaks WTO rules, it can bring a case. First there are talks; if they fail, a panel of experts decides, and either side can appeal to a standing Appellate Body. This system gave WTO rules real teeth.
A "stronger WTO" in large part means a dispute system that works again. For a growing trading nation like India, a working appeal stage gives protection against unfair trade measures by bigger economies.
- WTO established: 1 January 1995; headquarters: Geneva; members: 166
- MC14: Yaoundé, Cameroon, March 2026; ended without consensus
- E-commerce customs duty moratorium (in place since 1998) lapsed at MC14
- WTO Appellate Body non-functional since 11 December 2019
- MPIA set up in 2020; India not a member
- India-EFTA TEPA in force from 1 October 2025; India-EU FTA talks concluded 27 January 2026
- India's eighth WTO Trade Policy Review: July 2026