US drags India, China to WTO over subsidy programmes

Washington, Oct 7 (PTI) The United States on Thursday
dragged China and India to the World Trade Organisation over
subsidy programmes implemented by the world's two fastest
growing economies, with a top Obama Administration official
terming the situation as intolerable.
"The situation was simply intolerable," US Trade
Representative Ron Kirk said.
Noting that every member of the WTO is required to come
clean on their subsidy programmes on a regular basis, Kirk
said China has not notified its subsidy programmes in over
five years.
"India only recently filed its first notification in
almost ten years and even then, notified only three of the
many subsidy programmes we know to exist," he said.
"Because China and India have failed to meet their
respective obligations, we had to act -- as we are entitled to
under the WTO rules -- and provide the voluminous information
we have developed regarding subsidy programmes in these two
countries," he said.
Kirk announced that the US has submitted information to
the WTO identifying nearly 200 subsidy programmes that China
has failed to notify as per WTO rules.
Information was also submitted on 50 subsidy programmes
in India not previously notified, he said. Through these
actions at the WTO, the United States is seeking the prompt
provision of detailed information and data from China and
India regarding the operation of these subsidy programmes, the
USTR said.
Under WTO rules, every member is obligated to submit
information about all of its subsidy programmes on a regular
basis. This information is required so that members may assess
the nature and extent of the subsidy programmes of others.
The notification obligation is particularly significant
for members like China, where inadequate transparency in so
many areas places a tremendous burden on other WTO members
seeking to better understand China's trade policy measures,
the USTR said.
China has submitted only one subsidy notification since
becoming a WTO Member in December, 2001. That notification was
noticeably incomplete, it said.
In the last ten years, India has submitted only one
notification, which was also noticeably incomplete.
Previously, over the course of numerous meetings of the
WTO Subsidies Committee, the United States has requested that
China and India make full notifications of all of their
subsidy programmes, it said.
Kirk said the lack of transparency severely constrains
the ability of WTO members to ensure that each government is
playing by the rules.
"The United States would have preferred to avoid today's
filings, but we have done so to hold China and India
accountable and to enforce the rules that all WTO members must
follow," the US Trade Representative said.
"It is past time for China and India to be transparent
about their subsidy programmes and that includes meeting their
notification obligations like other WTO Members. China and
India are among the largest exporters in the WTO and it is
simply not acceptable that they continue to evade their
transparency commitments," Kirk said. PTI LKJ
MNS