GENEVA India has complained to the World Trade Organization about support given to the renewable energy industry in eight US states, the WTO said in a statement on Monday.
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Indiahas dragged the USA to the WTO against the policies of eight American states for the renewable energy sector, alleging that the domestic content requirement norms are “inconsistent” with global trade rules.
Under the norms of domestic content requirements, it is mandatory upon domestic companies to source a portion of input from local markets products.
India has requested consultations with the USA under the dispute-settlement mechanism over alleged mandatory local sourcing requirements being followed by Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota, a WTO official said. India lost a case at the WTO earlier this year after the United States complained about New Delhi’s national solar programme.
India’s complaint is on the grounds that subsidies are inconsistent with world trade norms because they provide less favourable treatment to imported products.
In the past, Indiaand the USA were involved in litigation at the WTO over the renewable energy sector.
India’s complaint follows a U.S. victory at the WTO over India’s requirement that only Indian-made products be used in large parts of its rapidly expanding solar power industry.
India and the U.S. will now have 60 days to reach a satisfactory solution to the problem through consultations, failing which New Delhi may request the setting up of a panel to settle the dispute. The panel had held that India’s power purchase agreements with solar firms were “inconsistent” with global norms.
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This is the third dispute between the USA and India in recent months as New Delhi had approached WTO against the United States visa fee hike, showing that the two countries need to tackle several issues despite the recent show of bonhomie.
