India currently defends nine trade disputes at WTO: Minister
New Delhi, Aug 4
India is currently defending nine trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation, including those filed by Japan, Brazil and Australia, the parliament was informed on Tuesday.
The Department of Commerce engages the Centre for Trade and Investment Law, the Centre for WTO Studies and empanelled law firms to represent India in the disputes, MoS, Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said in Lok Sabha.
Nearly Rs 2.43 crore has been spent so far on empanelled law firms for their services at WTO, he said, adding further costs will depend on the progress of ongoing proceedings.
"There are currently nine disputes pending against India under the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, commonly referred to as the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding," Prasada said.
Japan in May 2019 challenged India's safeguard measures on certain iron and steel products. India maintained that the measures were WTO‑consistent and has appealed a panel report, the minister said, adding that the appeal remains pending due to the non‑functioning of the WTO Appellate Body.
Brazil, Australia and Guatemala disputed India's sugar and sugarcane support and alleged export subsidies, arguing the measures breach the Agreement on Agriculture and the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) rules.
India contested these claims before the WTO panel and maintained that its sugar support policies and export-related schemes are in accordance with its WTO commitments and rights under these agreements.
The European Union, Japan and Chinese Taipei have raised disputes over India's tariff treatment on certain Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products.
"The complainants alleged that India has applied customs duties, in excess of the bound rates recorded in India's WTO schedule, thereby according less favourable treatment to these ICT goods in violation of GATT 1994," he said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The WTO Appellate Body not functioning is a major issue. How can disputes be resolved fairly when the appeal mechanism is broken? India should push for reforms in the WTO system along with other developing nations. 🇮🇳
While I support protecting our agricultural sector, we also need to be careful about not isolating ourselves in global trade. There's a fine balance between protecting domestic interests and being a responsible global trade partner. Hope the government is working on both fronts.
The sugar dispute is interesting - countries like Brazil exporting massive quantities of sugar complaining about our support to farmers? We're just protecting our farmers' livelihoods. Developed nations have been giving huge subsidies to their agriculture for decades.
Nine disputes at once seems like a lot. But looking at the specifics - Japan on steel, Brazil on sugar, EU on ICT - these are all important sectors for India's economy. The legal costs seem modest compared to the potential trade implications.
The ICT tariff dispute is concerning. With digital economy growing rapidly in India, we need to build our domestic manufacturing capacity. Raising tariffs was meant to encourage local production under Make in India. But we also need to ensure we stay within WTO commitments.
Being a developing country
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