U.S. Says India's Hardline Stance Has Put Future Of WTO In Jeopardy

The trade official, familiar with the Geneva negotiations on TFA, alleged that rigid stand of "India and very small handful of countries" has put the WTO in jeopardy.

India and the few other countries attempted to re-negotiate aspects of the Bali agreement, on which they had apparently changed their mind.

"In particular there was an effort to re-negotiate elements of the agreement on food security that had been arduously negotiated over a period of many many months," the official said.

It was difficult to understand the "erratic behaviour" by India, and for a long time there was no official position from the new Indian government, the official said adding that there was an indication that assurances needed to be made that all aspects agreed in Bali be given appropriate support by those who agreed to them.

India, the official said, received those assurances from G-20 members, including its current chairman Australia. There were other efforts to provide assurances to India in this regard.

"The U.S. indicated that it is willing to find a formal way to give them the specific assurance regarding that particular question but the suggestion was rejected by India at the very last minute," the official said.