The US and India are all set to begin their formal fight against each other at the World Trade Organisation over a poultry import ban imposed by New Delhi and penal duties on steel charged by Washington.
The panels for deliberating on the two cases have been now finalised and the hearings will begin soon, a Commerce Department official told Business Line .
The decision of the poultry panel would determine if India can continue to stop import of cheap chicken legs from the US citing the risk of avian influenza or bird flu.
The panel on steel duties, on the other hand, would look at the validity of the penal duties imposed by the US on hot-rolled steel sold by Indian companies on the ground that these were subsidised by the Indian Government.
Strengthening arguments
“Both countries had sought the establishment of dispute settlement panels in the middle of last year, but things got delayed due to disagreements over who would be included in the panels,” the official said.
The countries involved have to approve the panels as they have to be assured of their neutrality.
India has used the last few months “productively’’ to further strengthen its arguments in both cases and has also sought help of other Ministries and Departments, a Ministry official said.
“The Animal Husbandry Department is working on risk assessment studies on individual products to further strengthen our case for banning poultry from countries affected by bird flu,” the official said.
The US, which is batting for its domestic poultry industry that sees a market worth $300 million in India, has argued in preliminary discussions with India that its measures are inconsistent with the relevant science, international guidelines and the standards India has set for its own domestic industry.
While the US is currently allowed to export poultry to India, it is not able to ship anything as India’s strict avian influenza regulations increase the risk of import curbs and importers don’t feel confident to place long-term orders.
The Indian poultry industry will be hit badly if the US starts exporting its cheap chicken legs as it would drive down prices drastically.
India is on a firmer wicket on the steel case where it has complained against the countervailing or penal duties, as high as 500 per cent in some cases, imposed by the US on companies such as Essar, Tata, SAIL and Jindal.
These companies have not been able to export hot-rolled steel products to the US for the past few years due to the levy.
“The US argument that the iron ore sourced by Indian steel makers from NMDC is supplied at subsidised rate because it is a public body is completely baseless as ore is sold at the prevailing market prices. We have enough proof to substantiate our case,” the official said.