WTO customs row: Member nations may exclude India from deal

A group of World Trade Organization (WTO) members has informally discussed adopting a global overhaul of customs rules without India if New Delhi goes ahead with threats to block the deal, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_1642669” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image[/caption] India has demanded the deal, which must be approved on Thursday, be accompanied by a parallel agreement giving it more freedom to subsidise and stockpile food grains than currently allowed under WTO rules. The ultimatum revived doubts about the future of the WTO as a negotiating body and many diplomats said New Delhi’s stance could derail the whole process of world trade liberalisation, leading to some nations discussing the last-resort idea of excluding India from the deal. “If India does end up blocking (on Thursday) there is already a group of members who are interested in pursuing that path,” a source involved in the discussions said. “A dozen or so” of the WTO’s 160 members had informally discussed pushing ahead with the trade facilitation agreement on a plurilateral basis, or with less than 100 percent participation, the source said. The WTO says a successful deal could add $1 trillion to the global economy and create 21 million jobs. Reuters