WASHINGTON – The US has dragged India to the World Trade Organisation,alleging that it has “substantially underreported” its market price supportfor wheat and rice.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary SonnyPerdue in a joint statement said the US had submitted a counternotification in the WTO Committee on Agriculture (COA) on India’s marketprice support (MPS) for wheat and rice.
Filed on May 4, this is the first-ever COA notification under the WTOAgreement on Agriculture regarding another country’s measures.
Based on US calculations, the Trump administration said it appeared thatIndia had “substantially underreported” its market price support for wheatand rice.
“When calculated according to WTO Agreement on Agriculture methodology,India’s market price support for wheat and rice far exceeded its allowablelevels of trade distorting domestic support,” it said yesterday.
The US expects a robust discussion on how India implements and notifies itspolicies at the next COA meeting, which is scheduled for June 2018, a mediastatement said