India said it would veto the agreement until it gets what it wants on food subsidies and stockpiling.
At the World Trade Organisation meeting in Geneva, the agenda was pretty clear - its 160 members were to meet over two days to conclude a long running deal on global trade that was agreed at talks in Bali last December. This is a protocol that the WTO calls the "Trade Facilitation Agreement" and aims to overhaul customs regulations.
But the worst fears of the delegates came true. As the clock ticked, talks were suspended on Day 1 (Thursday) as India seemed determined to block this protocol. Why? Because of concerns over another part of the Bali agreement that directly impacts India's massive food subsidy programmes -- and India believes that these concerns have still not been addressed.
India said it would veto the agreement until it gets what it wants on food subsidies and stockpiling.
"India is of the view that the Trade Facilitation Agreement must be implemented only as part of a single undertaking including the permanent solution on food security," Indian Ambassador Anjali Prasad told the WTO meeting.
India's food subsidy programmes help over 500 million poor by providing cheap food to them. It maintains a stock pile of food to ensure that it always has a reliable supply of food. WTO rules allow countries to keep food reserves as long as they don't, "have the effect of providing price support to producers."
But what is market distorting and what isn't is also complicated.
"This is important so that the millions of farmers and the poor families who depend on domestic food stocks do not have to live in constant fear. To jeopardize the food security of millions at the altar of a mere anomaly in the rules is unacceptable," Ms Prasad said.
In any case, by linking the food security issue with this trade protocol, India plunged the entire deal into the abyss of hopelessness. "The credibility of the WTO is at stake here. Why should member countries come back and offer sacrifices if some others just don't want to keep their promises," said a delegate on condition of anonymity.
Many small and developing countries have supported India. A member of the South African delegation told this reporter that she thought that India was doing a great job. Cuba too was sympathetic to India's stand it is known.
But the US has reacted very critically to India's stand.
"Today we are extremely discouraged that a small handful of members in this organisation are ready to walk away from their commitments at Bali, to kill the Bali agreement, to kill the power of that good faith and goodwill we all shared, to flip the lights in this building back to dark," US ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, said in a statement.
The WTO has seen this happen before. Many countries are accusing India of using brinkmanship to push its agenda.
On the one hand India has managed to get its way resisting global pressure and bringing its concerns on food to the top of the agenda. On the other hand, many countries are accusing India of blocking a deal with large potential benefits to the world economy.
There are still a few more days to go before the July 31 deadline.