U.S. Senator Welcomes WTO Ruling Against India on Poultry

WASHINGTON: A senior U.S. senator has welcomed the World Trade Organization's decision against India's ban on American poultry products, saying that the move would boost the country's export of poultry products to India.

"This is a great victory for the United States and Georgia poultry, in particular. I have been working to open up India to U.S. poultry since this issue was brought to my attention," Senator Johny Isakson, ranking member on the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, said.

"I am pleased that the WTO panel affirmed that measures to ensure food safety must be based on science and not a desire to restrict market access. Georgia is the fourth largest poultry-producing region in the world, so this means a great deal to our state economy," Isakson said.

In a setback to India, the WTO ruled in favor of the U.S. in a dispute over India's ban on various U.S. agricultural products, including poultry meat, saying the Avian influenza restrictions imposed by New Delhi were imposed without sufficient scientific evidence.

Isakson said for over seven years, India imposed import restrictions on various U.S. agricultural products, particularly poultry meat, eggs and pigs, purportedly to prevent entry of avian influenza into India.

The U.S. however, has not had an outbreak of high pathogenic avian influenza since 2004, he said.

"America 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," he further said.

In 2011, Isakson with Senators Chris Coons, and 17 of his Senate colleagues had sent a letter to then-US Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk requesting that the US government to pursue the issue with India in bilateral talks.

The U.S initiated the dispute by requesting consultations with India in March 2012.

After consultations proved unsuccessful in resolving US concerns, the WTO established a panel at the U.S. request to hear its claims that India's avian influenza restrictions are inconsistent with India's WTO obligations.

"In its report, the WTO panel found that India's restrictions breached its obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures," Isakson said.

"The U.S. poultry industry, which directly employs over 3,50,000 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 USD300 million a year once India's restrictions are removed," he said.

Meanwhile, representatives of the U.S. poultry industry said that India's ban on U.S. poultry products was a thinly veiled protectionism.

"India's ban was thinly veiled protectionism," said President of USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) James Sumner and President of National Chicken Council Michael Brown in a joint statement.

"This ruling should send a signal to India and other countries that have placed similar bans on U.S. poultry that they are inconsistent with WTO rules and with guidelines established by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)," they said.

"Our industry believes that free and fair trade, particularly with food, should never be used as a political bargaining chip. Indian consumers deserve access to affordable and safe protein, which the US has the ability to provide," said Sumner and Brown.

They said the WTO's ruling does not give the U.S. automatic access to India's market, which is estimated to be approximately 2.6 million metric tons of poultry annually - "work remains to open India's market".

"We hope that the new Indian administration will be amenable to working with the U.S. government and industry to remove all restrictions and allow access for US poultry in the near future," the industry representatives said.

Also Read: Tata Steel In Talks To Sell UK Steel Plants To Swiss Group Klesch
Per Capita Wealth Grows To $4,650 In 14 Years: Report