World Trade

Talks at the World Trade Organization's ministerial last month at Yaounde ended in a disappointing stalemate. It highlights a gulf between the developing and advanced world that’s looking harder and harder to bridge.

Grand talk of a global reset has gained traction. US Republican thinkers are onto it too. Hal Brands, for example, has put out three scenario forecasts. But what if today’s havoc is aberrative? Here’s why the world order may be more resilient than many think.

The WTO’s latest ministerial huddle ended with nothing to show. As smaller coalitions push ahead, India should rethink its resistance to plurilateral pacts. These could serve our interests well. Think of dispute resolution and investment facilitation.

America’s sweeping Section 301 probes may be legal fiction, but they carry real risks for global trade. As Washington reopens deals and targets allies, those in his crosshairs must compare notes and work out defensive action.

Global institutions are indispensable for emerging economies seeking a fairer deal as the rules-based order wobbles. With geopolitical heft setting tariff equations and the like, the World Trade Organization is what developing countries must turn to.

Albert Hirschman’s book on geo-economics written in the context of Nazi Germany is proving prescient. Today, national strategies that weaponize trade flows, critical supplies and financial systems are prone to miscalculation—as with nuclear deterrence.

In a new draft declaration for the upcoming MC14, New Delhi has called for a time-bound roadmap to institutionalize the transfer of advanced technologies, such as semiconductors and green tech, to help developing nations compete in global trade.

As Donald Trump turns influence into a bargaining chip, diplomacy is being replaced by raw deal-making. For India, the challenge is to blunt this rambunctious style of negotiation without surrendering strategic autonomy—by leaning on its time-honoured diplomatic traditions, patience and leverage.

As per a WTO document, India told members that cotton remains critical for livelihoods and rural development in developing and least-developed countries, and that progress on the issue has been limited despite long-standing mandates.

After a year of flattery, appeasement and failed deals with US President Donald Trump, the world may finally have reached a turning point. Middle powers are exploring new alliances, trade pacts and strategies as they search for a balance that would guard their interests against a predatory America.