A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled on Thursday that Indian export subsidies are prohibited and should be removed, upholding a complaint brought by the United States.
The panel largely agreed with U.S. claims challenging export subsidies granted in the form of exemptions from customs duties and a national tax, while rejecting some U.S. arguments. It called on India to withdraw the export-contingent subsidies within periods varying from 90 to 180 days.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, in a statement, said that the panel had agreed that India provides prohibited subsidies to Indian exporters worth more than $7 billion annually, including to producers of steel products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, IT products and textiles.
However, U.S. suffered a blow at the global trade regulator on Friday with a WTO panel ruling that China was entitled to slap compensatory sanctions on U.S. imports worth $3.579 billion annually for the U.S. failure to remove anti-dumping duties – roughly half the amount China had sought.
China may now ask the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body for a green light to impose the retaliatory tariffs on imported U.S. goods valued up to that amount each year.
The case relates to U.S. dumping duties on industries including machinery and electronics, light industry, metals and minerals, and the U.S. Commerce Department’s way of calculating the amount of “dumping” – Chinese exports that are priced to undercut American-made goods on the U.S. market.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office in Washington had no immediate response on the ruling.
