Majority of WTO members reject China-backed investment facilitation plan

NEW DELHI: A majority of World Trade Organization (WTO) members have rejected a proposal by China-backed groups to facilitate investment in development, insisting it can only be done by agreement, according to some non-governmental advocacy groups.

This justifies India and South Africa’s stand on such a move, which is not on the agenda for WTO negotiations, as the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) begins in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

The convenors, South Korea and Chile, with support from China, announced the plan despite continued opposition from India and South Africa, which say the negotiations lack legitimacy.

WTO members have explicitly rejected attempts to create investment treaties since 1996. A 2004 decision stipulated that investment negotiations would not be discussed at the WTO until the Doha Round concluded. At the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference, WTO members agreed to address new issues only if all members agreed.

Trade ministers from 164 countries will meet in Abu Dhabi to address a wide range of topics including agriculture, fisheries and the link between trade and sustainable development.

“Not only are there no obligations in these negotiations, there are also negative obligations. Countries trying to push this through at MC13 are violating fundamental rules of the WTO,” Our World is Not for said Sale Network Manager Deborah James. Late night press statement.

“We have heard chilling stories of pressure being brought to bear at political level in the capital, bypassing trade officials who could analyze this and provide informed advice. “There are,” James added.

The main reasons why foreign investors do not come to many developing countries, least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States are poverty, distance and geography, small size, poor infrastructure and high costs. Foreign companies making investments mainly seek to make huge profits by exploiting natural resources, he said.

“The long history of investment treaties shows that they fail to address any of these issues. What countries really need is a strategic sector that takes responsibility for their development and truly advances it. Lucia of the Transnational Institute, an Amsterdam-based research and advocacy institute focused on social, political and environmental justice issues, said:・Mr. Bárcena stated. .

It added that developing countries would be obliged to implement policies that are already standard practice in many developed countries, without guarantees of financial support.