In steel dispute with US, WTO appellate body rules in India's favour
Updated: Dec 10, 2014 11:58:11am
New Delhi, Dec 10 (KNN) In a move that will help domestic manufacturers and exporters, WTO Appellate Body accepts major Indian challenges to US countervailing duties on hot rolled carbon steel flat products exported from India; ruling against the US imposing high duty on imports of certain Indian steel products.
“India has achieved a significant victory at the WTO, as the AB held that the Countervailing Duty (CVD) measures imposed by the United States against “certain Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products” are inconsistent with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). It will definitely help the domestic manufacturers who had been suffering on account of inconsistent practices by the USDOC,” an official release said from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The implication of this Ruling is that the US has to amend its domestic law to be WTO compliant and so far as the pending and the future CVD investigations are concerned, the same would be subject to challenge if cross-cumulation is applied again.
“It has significant trade impact for India as out of the current 10 products on which US has imposed CVD, about 7 products suffer from the same inconsistency,” it said.
Further, this ruling would provide significant relief to exporters who buy raw materials from PSUs such as SAIL or NMDC.
In addition, the ruling also has world-wide implications on how the WTO disciplines on subsidies can be applied against alleged financial contributions from State-owned enterprises, it said.
India will actively monitor the implementation of this ruling by the United States in order to ensure that the interests of Indian exporters are fully protected.
India's efforts in this dispute show case its commitment to ensuring a level playing field for its industry. Also, India recognizes with appreciation the contribution made by various stakeholders including the domestic industry, the law firm and the various departments who worked in close coordination to achieve this result.
The United States Department of Commerce (US DOC) imposed Countervailing Duty (CVD) on India’s exports of Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products. India had challenged the determinations made by the US DOC in various investigations / reviews treating several programmes of India as subsidy whereas, these programmes do not confer any subsidy on the Indian exporters.
Various provisions under challenge were that of US Tariff Act and the Code of Federal Regulations as being inconsistent with the provisions of WTO Subsidy Agreement (ASCM). The Panel Report was circulated on 14 July, 2014.
Thereafter, India and the US appealed before the WTO Appellate Body (AB) on various issues related to the Panel’s Rulings. On 8 December, 2014 the AB published its Report.
(KNN/ES)
“India has achieved a significant victory at the WTO, as the AB held that the Countervailing Duty (CVD) measures imposed by the United States against “certain Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products” are inconsistent with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). It will definitely help the domestic manufacturers who had been suffering on account of inconsistent practices by the USDOC,” an official release said from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The implication of this Ruling is that the US has to amend its domestic law to be WTO compliant and so far as the pending and the future CVD investigations are concerned, the same would be subject to challenge if cross-cumulation is applied again.
“It has significant trade impact for India as out of the current 10 products on which US has imposed CVD, about 7 products suffer from the same inconsistency,” it said.
Further, this ruling would provide significant relief to exporters who buy raw materials from PSUs such as SAIL or NMDC.
In addition, the ruling also has world-wide implications on how the WTO disciplines on subsidies can be applied against alleged financial contributions from State-owned enterprises, it said.
India will actively monitor the implementation of this ruling by the United States in order to ensure that the interests of Indian exporters are fully protected.
India's efforts in this dispute show case its commitment to ensuring a level playing field for its industry. Also, India recognizes with appreciation the contribution made by various stakeholders including the domestic industry, the law firm and the various departments who worked in close coordination to achieve this result.
The United States Department of Commerce (US DOC) imposed Countervailing Duty (CVD) on India’s exports of Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products. India had challenged the determinations made by the US DOC in various investigations / reviews treating several programmes of India as subsidy whereas, these programmes do not confer any subsidy on the Indian exporters.
Various provisions under challenge were that of US Tariff Act and the Code of Federal Regulations as being inconsistent with the provisions of WTO Subsidy Agreement (ASCM). The Panel Report was circulated on 14 July, 2014.
Thereafter, India and the US appealed before the WTO Appellate Body (AB) on various issues related to the Panel’s Rulings. On 8 December, 2014 the AB published its Report.
(KNN/ES)
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