Indian Objections Sink WTO Deal

India has blocked a massive World Trade Organization deal designed to reduce subsidies for agriculture goods, thus boosting trade for the world’s poorest nations. WTO decisions require consensus of all members. The deadlock after years of negotiation risks “plunging the body back into a crisis of credibility,” report Shawn Donnan and Amy Kazmin for the Financial Times. Many trade observers anticipate the world’s most powerful nations to proceed with regional deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which shut out less powerful nations. “The deal struck in Bali was meant to get WTO members to agree on a small package of uncontroversial measures as a way to build trust and eventually find a way to revive the Doha negotiations, which have been dormant since 2008 and respond to the growth of the ‘megaregional’ pacts,” report Donnan and Kazmin. India once complained about US and EU subsidies, yet offers many subsidies for its poor. Such programs are known to distort markets, reduce efficiency and innovation, trap workers into unsustainable careers, and corrupt politics. - YaleGlobal