US dragged India to WTO, it "underreported" market price support for wheat, rice
For the first time the US has dragged India to the World Trade Organisation, alleging that it has "substantially underreported" its market price support for wheat and rice.
US drags India to WTO; says it underreported market price support for wheat, rice
The US had submitted a counter-notification in the WTO Committee on Agriculture (COA) on India’s market price support (MPS) for wheat and rice, said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
“When calculated according to WTO Agreement on Agriculture methodology, India’s market price support for wheat and rice far exceeded its allowable levels of trade distorting domestic support,” it said on Wednesday.
The US expected a robust discussion on how India implemented and notified its policies at the next COA meeting, which is scheduled for June 2018, a media statement said.
“Accurate reporting and improved transparency of these programmes is an important step in ensuring that our trading partners are living up to their WTO commitments and helps achieve more market-based outcomes through the multilateral trading system,” he said.
These include issues with the quantity of production used in market price support calculations, the exclusion of state-level bonuses from calculations of applied administered prices, exclusion from India’s notifications of information on the total value of production of wheat and rice and issues with currency conversions.
“India represents a massive market, and we want greater access for US products, but India must be transparent about their practices. For trade to be free and fair, all parties must abide by their WTO commitments,” he said.
-PTC News
