India’s WTO resistance may slow investment into poorer countries
Argument
India is blocking adoption of the WTO’s Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, and the columnist argues that stance is slowing a reform meant to make it easier for poorer countries to attract foreign investment. The agreement has 131 WTO members behind it, including 94 developing countries, but India now stands alone after Turkiye and South Africa withdrew their opposition.
Assessment
The argument rests on the idea that the deal is mainly about cutting investment red tape, not opening markets or changing investor protection rules. The writer also points to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026, which says global FDI rose 6% in 2025 to $1.6 tn, but flows to developing countries rose only 2%, a gap that makes the case for easier investment rules more urgent in his view.
Limits
India’s stated objection is not to the content of IFDA itself, but to the wider risk that more plurilateral WTO deals could fragment the trading system.
The same argument cuts both ways: the writer says India’s refusal to back plurilateral rules is pushing other countries to seek trade fixes outside the WTO, which could deepen the fragmentation India fears.