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Amid renewed global debates on trade protectionism, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has urged the Indian government to seriously consider walking away from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.
This comes in response to former US President Donald Trump’s threats of imposing steep reciprocal tariffs, which the SJM sees as a blatant disregard for global trade rules.
Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the SJM and professor of economics at Delhi University, said that India should reconsider its continued commitment to multilateral trade agreements which, he claimed, have historically worked against India’s interests.
Speaking to the media, Mahajan remarked that the United States itself appears to be bypassing the WTO framework, and in such a scenario, India too should assert its sovereignty over economic decisions.
Mahajan argued that India has paid a significant price for its adherence to the WTO’s rules, especially under the TRIPS agreement. He claimed that the annual outflow of royalties from India has jumped to over $17 billion, a figure that was almost negligible before TRIPS came into effect.
He criticised the agreement as “inhuman”, citing the example of the Covid-19 pandemic where developed countries refused to relax patent protections to allow wider access to essential medicines.
The TRIPS agreement, part of the WTO framework, sets minimum standards for protecting intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
While it aims to harmonise global laws, it has often been criticised for disproportionately benefiting developed nations and restricting affordable access to medicines and technologies in developing countries.
Mahajan questioned the relevance of TRIPS when the effectiveness of the WTO itself is in doubt. “If WTO doesn’t exist in spirit, why should TRIPS continue?” he said.
He emphasised that the West uses such frameworks primarily to protect its profits, often at the cost of humanitarian needs in developing countries like India.
He also reiterated his long-standing view that India should focus more on bilateral trade agreements rather than multilateral ones.
In an earlier interview, Mahajan said the SJM had opposed the WTO agreements from the outset, fearing that TRIPS, TRIMS (Trade-Related Investment Measures), and other similar frameworks would threaten India’s public health system, farmers' interests, and legislative autonomy.
Despite his strong criticism, Mahajan sees a potential silver lining in the emerging trade dynamics. He noted that Trump’s proposed tariffs might offer India a relative advantage over China in the US market.
According to him, India’s lower position on the US tariff list compared to China could create opportunities, particularly in sectors such as chemicals and other manufactured goods, where Indian exporters are already competitive.
However, he warned that certain vulnerable sectors—especially agriculture, dairy and small-scale industries—must be protected. He urged the Indian government to take pre-emptive measures to shield these sectors from adverse impacts of global trade fluctuations.
Regarding the much-anticipated India-US bilateral trade agreement, Mahajan said he believes it’s important to engage with the United States, but also suggested that the Indian government is in no rush to finalise such a deal. “We should engage, but on our own terms,” he said.
As the global trade environment grows increasingly fragmented, the SJM’s call to abandon WTO-led frameworks like TRIPS reflects a broader push within certain Indian circles to prioritise self-reliance, sovereignty, and economic pragmatism over rigid adherence to international trade norms.
