India, South Africa: Plurilaterals ‘legally inconsistent’ with WTO rules

The push by many countries -- including the U.S. -- to conclude plurilateral agreements at the World Trade Organization is “legally inconsistent” with WTO rules and principles, India and South Africa argued in a new paper, insisting there is a “fundamental requirement for multilateralism” in Geneva. Many in Geneva have argued that plurilateral negotiations, also known as joint statement initiatives, are one of the few ways to make progress at the WTO because the multilateral negotiating arm has largely failed...