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India has sought legal and institutional clarity over the WTO’s interim e-commerce arrangement after the proposed agreement failed to secure consensus among members.
News18
India has raised concerns at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over an interim arrangement being used to implement the Agreement on Electronic Commerce (ECA), saying the proposed pact has not secured the consensus required under WTO rules.
According to a communication circulated by the WTO on Thursday at India’s request, the WTO General Council was asked on February 18 and December 16, 2025, to adopt a decision to include the agreement in Annex 4 of the WTO agreements. However, consensus was not reached on either occasion.
Annex 4 covers plurilateral trade agreements that are binding only on those WTO members that choose to accept them. However, the inclusion of such agreements still requires the consensus of all WTO member countries.India has opposed the e-commerce agreement, which has been backed by 66 WTO members, maintaining that such plurilateral arrangements should not bypass the multilateral consensus-based decision-making process of the organisation.
On March 28 this year, the 66 participating countries issued a declaration introducing interim arrangements as a pathway for bringing the Agreement on Electronic Commerce into force.
India Seeks Institutional Clarity: In its communication, India said it was raising “questions of systemic, legal and institutional importance” arising from the current interim arrangements and sought greater clarity for the wider WTO membership.
India pointed out that consensus for adding the agreement to Annex 4 had not been achieved despite two attempts before the General Council.
“In the absence of consensus, we would like to understand the institutional basis on which the Interim Arrangements (IA) are operating,” the communication said.
India also sought clarification on the legal basis within the WTO Agreement under which the WTO Director-General has been assigned the role of depositary for the Agreement on Electronic Commerce.
Further, it requested details of the process through which the WTO Director-General’s consent was obtained to act as the depositary for the instruments of acceptance of the agreement, along with information on any communication made to the rest of the WTO membership regarding these arrangements.
Calling the matter significant for the WTO’s institutional framework and governance, India asked participating countries to submit written responses, which should be circulated as an official WTO document.
It also requested that both the questions and the responses be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the WTO General Council for a substantive discussion.
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