India, South Africa block China’s IFD proposal at WTO

India, along with South Africa, successfully blocked a key proposal led by China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the third day of the conference.

The proposal, known as the Investment Facilitation Development Agreement (IFD), is unlikely to be included in the final outcome document of the ongoing Ministerial Conference.

India raised several concerns regarding the Investment Facilitation Development Agreement. Firstly, India argued that the IFD falls outside the scope of the WTO, as it is not strictly a trade issue beyond the scope of the Marrakesh agreement.

Secondly, India pointed out that the IFD does not fulfill the criteria for a formal agreement as it has not received unanimous support from all WTO members, thus lacking the exclusive consensus required.

Abhijit Das is an International Trade Expert, Former Head, Centre for WTO Studies, Former Officer in Charge UNCTAD India.