U.S. drafts WTO reform to halt handouts for big and rich states

The United States proposed a reform of the World Trade Organization on Friday that would slash the number of countries that are eligible for "special and differential treatment", a plan likely to be resisted by China, India and other countries.

The United States has long complained that WTO members such as China and India can self-designate as "developing countries", entitling them to a range of benefits and lenient treatment at the WTO.

In the draft reform posted on the WTO website, it said current and future trade negotiations should withhold such special treatment from countries classified as "high income" by the World Bank, OECD members or acceding members, G20 nations and any state accounting for 0.5 percent or more of world trade.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)