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Yaounde (Cameroon): The Narendra Modi government’s repeated claims of being “leader” and “voice” of the Global South is going to face another test at the World Trade Organization’s 14th ministerial conference today, amid a grave challenge from the United States to transform the multilateral trade body into a “bilateral and plurilateral” frame work.

Such a framework, according to the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer will ensure “the benefits will accrue to those partners – not to free riders or countries that undermine fair, market-oriented competition,”  a move that could disenfranchise the WTO countries from any role in the WTO.

In several global forums, including the G20 Summits, Modi has emphasised that India represents the concerns of developing nations that are often underrepresented in global decision-making. He has stated that India’s presidency of the G20 is guided by the principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One Earth, One Family, One Future),” with a clear focus on amplifying the priorities of the Global South.

The 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon on March 26-29, will be the test of India’s leadership of Global South. The main agenda items of MC14 where India will be needed to safeguard the interests of Indian citizens as well as people of the Global South include the e-commerce moratorium, WTO reforms; agriculture and fisheries, and plurilateral agreements.

A recent Draft Ministerial Decision on Electronic Transmission by the US and other 18 countries seeks to make the Moratorium on Electronic Transmissions permanent, including the ‘content of the transmission’ in the scope of the Moratorium. This can be extremely dangerous for India as well as the Global South.

With artificial intelligence (AI) being delivered through electronic transmissions and used across all services, including IT, financial, professional, healthcare, and education........

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