India's Trade Policy
India at the WTO
What India wants from the World Trade Organization, its battles over food stocks and farm subsidies, and its positions on fisheries and digital trade.
India was a founding member of the World Trade Organization in 1995. It is known as a tough negotiator that defends developing countries’ interests, especially on farming.
Food security and public stocks
India buys grain from farmers at minimum support prices and stores it to supply its public distribution system. WTO rules limit some types of farm support, and India’s purchases can breach the limits as calculated under rules based on 1980s prices.
In 2013, WTO members agreed a peace clause, meaning countries would not challenge such programmes while a permanent solution was negotiated. India has pushed hard for that permanent solution and has used the peace clause for rice.
Special and differential treatment
India argues developing countries should have flexibility, such as longer timelines and more room for subsidies, because they have many poor farmers and weaker industries.
Fisheries subsidies
WTO members agreed in 2022 to ban some fisheries subsidies that contribute to illegal fishing and overfishing. The agreement took effect in 2025. India argued for protecting support to its millions of small, traditional fishers while restricting subsidies for large industrial fleets.
E-commerce and digital trade
WTO members have long had a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, such as downloads. India has questioned it, arguing developing countries lose potential revenue as trade moves online.
Disputes
India has been involved in several WTO disputes:
- A panel ruled in 2019 that some Indian export incentives were prohibited subsidies.
- India has challenged other countries’ measures too.
The WTO’s Appellate Body has been unable to hear appeals since 2019, because the US blocked appointments of new members. This has weakened the dispute system.
Why it matters
The WTO sets the rules that shape India’s trade policy options, from farm support to tariffs and export incentives.
A government warehouse in Punjab stores wheat bought from farmers at guaranteed prices. At the WTO, other countries argue this support distorts world markets; India argues it is essential for feeding hundreds of millions of poor people.
Countries negotiate commitments at the WTO, which sets ceilings and rules. Countries decide actual tariffs within those limits.
- India has been a WTO member since 1995.
- It defends public grain stockholding, protected by a 2013 peace clause.
- It seeks flexibility for developing countries and small fishers.
- The WTO's Appellate Body has been stalled since 2019.
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