The trade war between India and the US seems to have intensified further.
New Delhi has dragged Washington to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over levy of high duties by the US on steel pipe imports from India.
“On April 12 India has requested consultations with the US under the dispute settlement system concerning the latter's countervailing duties on certain steel products from India,” WTO said in a notice on Friday.
The request for consultation formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. The consultation process gives the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation.
After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel, according to the WTO Web site.
Recent reports from Washington suggested that the US had levied a countervailing duty of 286 per cent duty in late March on import of circular welded carbon quality steel pipes from India stating that they were unfairly subsidised. The Indian steel pipe imports to the US were around $64.5 million in value terms.
The non-alloy or carbon steel exports from India have been on the rise and for the April-February 2012 period grew 26 per cent to 3.36 million tonnes over corresponding last year.
India had recently taken the US to the WTO on the latter's visa norms. Washington had moved the WTO against India's ban on American poultry imports.