WTO rules against India's US poultry ban, big win for US producers

09/06/2015 12:00 - 493 Views

INDIA has violated its international trade obligations by abusing sanitary regulations to ban US poultry according to a World Trade Organisation panel.

The WTO appellate body said India's restrictions are not based on international standards or risk assessments that take into account available scientific evidence, and arbitrarily discriminate against US products because India blocks imports while not similarly blocking unsanitary domestic products, reported American Shipper.

In addition, the WTO found that India's rules are more trade-restrictive than necessary since the country could adopt international standards for the control of avian influenza instead of imposing an outright import ban, and fail to recognise the concept of "disease-free areas" from where products originate.

"This [WTO] decision affirms the importance of basing agricultural trade requirements on sound science," said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This is a major win for US agriculture and, in particular, the US poultry industry."

The Office of the US Trade Representative estimates that US exports to India of poultry meat could exceed US$300 million a year once India's restrictions are removed.

For eight years, India has said it required restrictions on various US agricultural products, including poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs, to prevent entry of avian influenza.

Source: seanews.com