India blocked the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) trade facilitation agreement and by doing so it has brought along a string of losses, in case the deal collapses.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was one of the 10 agreements of Bali deal. If India's firmness causes the Bali deal to collapse, it will lose all the benefits credited along with the agreement.
At the Bali meeting on December 2013, India had forced the United Nations and European Union to agree with its demand for stockpiling food grains at subsidised rates and more than it does under the WTO rules.
The WTO agreed to make this agreement permanent within four years, i.e. by the end of 2017. However, India has been insisting to accelerate the process and make it permanent way ahead of its decided time frame.
If India remained persistent on its demand, it would lose this benefit completely.
India might also attract legal implications, as, of all the 10 agreements, only TFA has legal components linked to it. If the deal collapses, India would be devoid of the leverage to stockpile food grains without interference from other WTO members.
India might also have to face the bitterness from other developing nations and its diplomatic friends such as Russia, Brazil, China, and Pakistan, as the country's decision would affect these nations as well, and they have opposed India's veto.
"They're the ones with fewer options, who are at risk of being left behind. They're the ones that may no longer have a seat at the table," Reuters quoted WTO chief Roberto Azevedo
By blocking the trade, India is not just blocking away economic success for itself, but also for all other developing nations. The deal is said to boost the global economy by $1 trillion and provide 21 million jobs, 18 million alone in the developing nations.
India's action is also being considered as a threat to global trade by some experts and diplomats, who think that the global trade system might break into sections of several regional trade blocs.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry too suggested India to come to a consensus on this matter as Thursday's instance, has sent a 'confusing signal' out to the world and the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's India is also being undermined, according to reports.
