WTO: India’s rules discriminate against U.S. poultry imports

A World Trade Organization panel sided with the United States in finding that India is in violation of international trade obligations.    A World Trade Organization panel sided with the United States in finding that India is in violation of international trade obligations as they relates to the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures for imports, particularly U.S. poultry products.
   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 U.S. products because India blocks imports while not similarly blocking unsanitary domestic products.
   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 recognize the concept of “disease-free areas” from where products originate.
   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimated that U.S. exports to India of just poultry meat alone could exceed $300 million a year once India’s restrictions are removed. The United States exports 20 percent of its poultry meat production worldwide, with poultry meat, eggs, and other poultry products worth about $6.5 billion in 2014.
   “This [WTO] decision affirms the importance of basing agricultural trade requirements on sound science,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement. “This is a major win for U.S. agriculture and, in particular, the U.S poultry industry. “
   For eight years, India has said it required restrictions on various U.S. agricultural products, including poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs, to prevent entry of avian influenza into the country.
   “The United States has consistently explained to India that, as reflected in relevant international standards, there is no scientific basis to ban imports of U.S. agricultural products,” USTR said. “Specifically, the most common type of avian influenza outbreak in the United States, low pathogenic avian influenza, does not warrant import prohibitions.”