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India must stop watching and start reshaping the WTO’s future. Its interests are at stake

The old rulebook was built for a world of stable supply chains and predictable geopolitics. Today, global trade is a battleground for digital dominance and climate adaptation.

Since its inception in 1995, the World Trade Organization has been a beacon of a new global economic order: a rules-based system that promised predictability, inclusivity, and development opportunities for all nations. Today, that promise stands under strain, as the global trade landscape is fundamentally reshaped by geopolitics, digital disruption, and climate imperatives. India stands at a strategic juncture, ready to redefine its role in this evolving system.

The world that birthed the World Trade Organization (WTO) was one of optimism—a belief that multilateralism could harmonise global commerce. But three decades later, trade is no longer driven solely by tariffs or market access. Instead, it is shaped by strategic competition among great powers, supply-chain resilience, digital sovereignty, and climate imperatives. 

The WTO now faces a 2020s reality. Supply chains that were once globalised now fracture into regional blocs. Digital economies defy borders, and climate change demands a rethinking of trade rules.

In short, the WTO no longer sets the stage alone. It is one actor in a far more complex choreography. If it is to survive, it must transform—become more adaptive, more inclusive, and more fit for purpose in an age of geopolitical flux.

India’s evolving trade posture

For India, this transformation is not a passive bystandership but a moment of recalibration. India’s stance toward plurilateralism, once seen as a threat to consensus-based multilateralism, now reflects a nuanced understanding. India has long been a defender of the multilateral system: a vocal proponent of Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT), consensus decision-making, and a broad policy space for development. Yet, India also recognises that global trade rules are being shaped outside the........

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