India, 3 others oppose China-led investment pact at WTO

India along with three other nations are opposing the China-led plurilateral Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement which seeks to put in place a pre-investment review or appeal system through an independent body to screen all investments.

WTO DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that in the short to medium term, she would like to work to deliver on the IFD.

“There is tremendous amount of pressure and momentum by China. 128 WTO members of the 166 have joined…There are mandated issues on the table which have to be taken up before new issues,” said an official.

South Africa, Namibia and Turkiye are opposing the agreement while the US is neither joining nor opposing it.

India is opposed to the issue because it is not a trade issue and it can’t be adopted till there is exclusive consensus.

CBAM stance in WTO
India is carefully evaluating its stance on the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) at WTO as it is in talks for a free trade agreement with the bloc.

“We are crystallising our position especially with our negotiations on the FTA are going on,” said an official.

CBAM will come into effect January 1, 2026wherein domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium, and hydrocarbon products would have to seek certificates from the EU authorities to comply with the CBAM norms.

Indian firms may incur tariffs of 20-35%, leading to higher costs, reduced competitiveness, and lower demand in the EU market, government think tank
Niti Aayog said last week.

“EU is yet to notify CBAM to WTO. Everyone is articulating their positions,” the official said.

There are also talks of CBAM being deferred with different EU countries having different levels of development and positions on climate justice.

Sources said that while Poland is opposed to CBAM, Denmark supports technology transfer.