Major relief for Indian steel industry: WTO rules in India's favour in steel dispute with US

Geneva/New Delhi, Dec 9: In a major relief to the steel industry, the WTO has ruled against the US which had imposed high duty on imports of certain steel products from India.

The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that the duty imposed by the US on the Indian steel products is "inconsistent" with its Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

However, it also rejected some of the findings of the Geneva-based organisation's dispute settlement panel which were in India's favour.

The body has also recommended that the US should modify its norms and bring them in line with the WTO's agreement. After India filed its complaint at the WTO in 2012, the dispute settlement panel of the body in July this year had ruled in India's favour against the USA's imposition of higher duties on New Delhi's steel imports.

A member country can challenge panel's ruling and approach Appellate Body of the WTO. The US Department of Commerce (USDOC) had imposed countervailing duty (CVD) on India's exports of hot rolled carbon steel flat products.

As per reports, Washington has imposed duties of about 300 per cent on these product imports. The US had imposed the higher duties on steel imports from India arguing that some domestic companies were being indirectly subsidised by the Indian government.

PTI