US anti-dumping win at WTO to hit India

13/01/2008 12:00 - 961 Views

NEW DELHI: US has won the WTO zeroing dispute against Mexico, which is a setback to India’s sustained campaign against the American method of calculating the anti-dumping duties on imports.
The WTO panel ruling in favour of the Americans has emboldened USTR Susan Schwab to say that the zeroing method of calculating anti-dumping duties should form the basis for the Doha Round Rules negotiations.

"This underscores the US view that WTO members need to address this issue in the Doha Round Rules negotiations and adopt clear, precise rules in the Anti-dumping Agreement expressly permitting the use of zeroing," she said in a statement.

India, which is backed by at least 15 other countries, has gone to the extent of saying that "with ‘zeroing’ there will be no Doha Round agreement".

Both commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath and secretary in his ministry G K Pillai have put out India’s strong resentment over the WTO panel on Rules succumbing to US pressure. "We are opposed to the process of zeroing and will always oppose it," Nath had said.

1/1/2008

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com