India raises questions at WTO over interim arrangement to implement e-comm pact

India has raised questions at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding an interim arrangement intended to implement an e-commerce pact, which has been agreed upon by only 66 of the 166 member countries.

According to a communication circulated by the WTO on Thursday at India's request, the General Council (GC) was asked on Feb 18 and Dec 16, 2025, to adopt a decision to add the pact to Annex 4 of the WTO agreements. However, there was no consensus on the matter. Annex 4 contains plurilateral trade pacts that are binding only on the WTO members who have accepted them, unlike mandatory multilateral agreements. Such pacts require the consensus of all member countries.

India has opposed the agreement, arguing that such pacts bypass multilateral consensus. On March 28 this year, 66 countries issued a declaration on interim arrangements as a pathway to bring the Agreement on Electronic Commerce (ECA) into force. "This communication would like to pose a few questions of systemic, legal and institutional importance arising from the current arrangements. These questions are intended for the participating countries to ensure greater clarity for the WTO membership," the communication stated.