WASHINGTON,
May 11 – U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said today that the United States has
asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute settlement
panel to rule on its assertion that New
Delhi’s restrictions on imports U.S. poultry
meat and chicken eggs violates India’s
obligations under WTO trade agreements.
Although India claims its that its measures are designed to preventing
avian influenza, USTR said that
its rules are inconsistent with the relevant science, international guidelines
and the standards India has set for its own domestic industry, all contrary to
WTO requirements.
The request for the dispute settlement panel was filed
Monday after consultations with India
on April 16-17 – the first necessary step in pursuing a case -- failed to
resolve the U.S.
concerns.
India asserts a to impose import restrictions on countries that
report outbreaks of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI), the only kind of
avian influenza found in the United States since 2004. “India appears to have
acted inconsistently with its obligations” under the WTO Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures “by failing to base
its measures on international guidelines or a valid risk assessment and by
failing to ensure that its measures do not unfairly discriminate against
imports from countries such as the United States,” USTR
said.
Kirk’s move was welcomed by the National Chicken Council,
National Turkey Federation and USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. “Unfortunately,
the government of India
did not lift its unwarranted restrictions on U.S. poultry after consultations
with the United States
at the WTO in Geneva,”
they said in a statement. “However, we are pleased that USTR
is taking the next step. We support the dispute settlement process moving
forward as soon as possible with the formation of this panel.”
The industry statement said that India has used a variety of
non-tariff trade barriers to deny access to U.S. poultry for several years. “Although
international health standards, in particular those of the World Organization
for Animal Health (OIE), identify only highly pathogenic stains of avian
influenza as warranting trade restrictions, India has long ignored those
international norms and has banned poultry imports from the United States or any
country that reports any incident of avian influenza, even cases of low
pathogenicity. This is a protectionist policy that is inconsistent with
accepted international standards, and has no health or safety justification.”
Absent India’s
trade barriers were eliminated, the industry said it estimates conservatively
that the value of U.S.
poultry exports to India
each year would surpass $300 million.
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