WTO Subsidies Committee Discusses Lack of Notification, Indian Textile Subsidies, Etc.
The World Trade Organization said discussions in the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures on April 26, 2012, continued to focus on encouraging more members to notify their subsidy programs, and on improving the timeliness and completeness of notifications. The WTO said some delegations expressed concern over the latest report that half of members had so far failed to submit the required subsidy notifications, which were due June 30, 2011.
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The U.S. tabled a proposal for defining time limits to answer written requests by members, under Article 25.8 of the Agreement, on the nature and extent of subsidies granted by other members. The WTO said Australia, EU and Canada expressed general support for the U.S. proposal while some other members said they needed to study it further.
U.S. Calls on China & India to Notify Subsidy Programs
The WTO said the U.S. again asked China and India to notify 200 and 50 subsidy programs, respectively, to the Committee following the counter-notification made by the US under Article 25.10 of the Subsidies Agreement. It said most of these subsidy programs, which included a number of programs of local governments, were not included in the most recent subsidy notifications of these two countries. The EU, Canada, Japan, Norway and Turkey shared the U.S.’ concerns.
China reiterated that the U.S. continued to misunderstand its subsidy programs, adding that a number of programs in the U.S. list were already covered in China’s notification to the Committee. India said many of its programs listed by the U.S. are not prohibited by the Subsidies Agreement, and cited an infrastructure program as an example.
The U.S. said it would be willing to discuss these matters further with China and India.
U.S. and Turkey Complain About Indian Textile Subsidies
According to the WTO, the U.S. and Turkey asked India to stop extending export subsidies to its textile and apparel industry, and to phase-out its existing subsidy programs as required by the Subsidies Agreement for developing countries that have attained export competitiveness in a particular sector.
Turkey said subsidized Indian textile producers posed unfair competition to its producers. The U.S., which recalled that it was the one that had asked the WTO Secretariat to calculate India’s competitiveness in the textile and apparel sector, said it was concerned that with new programs, India seemed to have gone in the opposite direction in fulfilling its subsidy obligations. The European Union called on India to phase out its export subsidies to textiles.
India said it's committed to meet its obligations but maintained that the Committee needed to first come to a common understanding regarding the definition of products covered, and when should the phase-out begin. It said it is prepared to work with the Committee and interested members on this issue.
India Expresses Concern over 285% CV Margin in U.S. Circular Pipes Prelim
The WTO said India expressed concern over what it said was a highly unreasonable 285% preliminary countervailing duty determination by the U.S. on imports of circular carbon welded pipes from India. The U.S. said its procedures are consistent with the Agreement, adding that the Indian companies concerned had failed to provide some information requested by the International Trade Administration.