UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What is at stake at the WTO’s MC14?

Q1. Under whose chairship was the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14, March 2026) conducted at Yaoundé?

  • A. Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Cameroon's Minister of Trade
  • B. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO Director-General
  • C. Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry
  • D. Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative

Q2. MC14 at Yaoundé was a meeting of which organ, described as the WTO's supreme (topmost) decision-making body?

  • A. The Ministerial Conference
  • B. The General Council
  • C. The Dispute Settlement Body
  • D. The Appellate Body

Q3. With reference to MC14 (Yaoundé, 2026) compared with earlier Ministerial Conferences, consider the following statements: 1. It was only the second WTO Ministerial Conference to be held on African soil, the first having been MC10 at Nairobi. 2. Unlike MC13, which had kept the moratorium in force, MC14 allowed the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions to lapse. 3. MC14 fully restored the WTO Appellate Body, which had been non-functional since 2019. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was only the second WTO Ministerial Conference to be held on African soil, the first having been MC10 at Nairobi.
  2. Unlike MC13, which had kept the moratorium in force, MC14 allowed the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions to lapse.
  3. MC14 fully restored the WTO Appellate Body, which had been non-functional since 2019.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. India's negotiating position at MC14 was always articulated and operationalised by which Union ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. Ministry of External Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Finance
  • D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Q5. In the context of the issues at stake at MC14, the WTO 'e-commerce moratorium' that lapsed in March 2026 refers to the commitment by members to:

  • A. Not impose customs duties on electronic transmissions
  • B. Not levy any domestic taxes (such as GST/VAT) on digital services
  • C. Not restrict cross-border flows of personal data
  • D. Not regulate foreign e-commerce platforms operating in their markets