American Chicken Legs in Punjabi Dhabas in the Offing

(Americans do not like to eat chicken legs which are discarded at the time of processing. Indians, on the other hand, love the leg portion. Thus the waste of US is priced low for the small pockets of Indians.

On the other hand, Americans love chicken breasts which Indians hate.

A case of breasts vs legs? – Ed)

India lost the case at WTO on Tuesday, 14 October against the restrictions it had imposed on poultry imports US on grounds of SPS restriction based on bird flu. The WTO’s dispute panel said held restrictions imposed by India on imports of poultry from America were “inconsistent” with the international norms. WTO said that India’s measures are “arbitrarily and unjustifiably discriminate between Members where identical or similar conditions prevail and are applied in a manner which constitutes a disguised restriction on international trade.”

It also said that the measures are “significantly more trade-restrictive” than required to achieve India’s appropriate level of protection with respect to the products and “therefore are also applied beyond the extent necessary to protect human and animal life or health”.

“India’s Avian Influenza (AI) measures are inconsistent with (several articles) of the SPS (sanitary and phyto-sanitary) Agreement because they are not based on the relevant international standard,” the ruling said.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman called it a major victory for the American farmers. “Our farmers produce the finest, and safest, agricultural products in the world.”, he said. India may appeal against the ruling.

United States Trade Representative Michael Froman announced on 14 October that the United States has won a major victory at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on behalf of U.S. farmers, including the U.S. poultry industry. A WTO dispute settlement panel has found in favor of the United States in a dispute challenging India’s ban on various U.S. agricultural products – such as poultry meat, eggs, and live pigs – allegedly to protect against avian influenza. The panel agreed with the United States that India’s ban breached numerous international trade rules, including because it was imposed without sufficient scientific evidence.

Georgia is the fourth largest poultry-producing region in the world, so this means a great deal to our state economy”, said Senator Isakson.

The U.S. poultry industry, directly employs over 350,000 workers and consists of nearly 50,000 family farms – has been particularly affected by India’s restrictions.  The industry estimates that U.S. exports to India of just poultry meat alone could easily exceed $300 million a year once India’s restrictions are removed – and are likely to grow substantially in the future as India’s demand for high quality protein increases.

The United States initiated this dispute by requesting consultations with India on March 6, 2012. After consultations proved unsuccessful in resolving U.S. concerns, the WTO established a panel at the U.S. request to hear U.S. claims that India’s avian influenza restrictions are inconsistent with India’s WTO obligations.

In its report, the Panel that India breached its obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) because India’s restrictions:

Restrictions are not based on international standards or a risk assessment that takes into account available scientific evidence;

They arbitrarily discriminate against U.S. products because India blocks imports while not similarly blocking domestic products to constitute a disguised restriction on international trade;

Restrictions are more trade restrictive than necessary since India could reasonably adopt international standards for the control of avian influenza instead of imposing an import ban and fail to recognize the concept of disease free areas and are not adapted to the characteristics of the areas from which products originate and to which they are destined; and

Further, the measures were not properly notified in a manner that would allow the United States and other WTO Members to comment on India’s restrictions before they went into effect.