|
India suffered a setback in a wine and spirit dispute with the US as the WTO appellate body ruled in favour of the American contention that New Delhi is levying excess duties on the alcoholic drinks than allowed by the multilateral agency.
The appellate body of the global trade referee on October 30 reversed the June 2008 decision of the WTO Dispute Settlement Panel, which had gone in India's favour.
The panel had stated that the US “had failed to establish that the additional duty and the extra-additional duty are inconsistent with India's WTO obligations”.
While the highest appeals court of WTO found the duties imposed by India inconsistent with the rules, it did not offer any recommendations for New Delhi.
Hailing the appellate body's ruling, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said, “We are continuing to monitor the effect” of a mechanism under which India had modified the extra-additional duty by establishing a refund system.
“This is an important decision for all WTO members, particularly at a time when they are negotiating tariff commitments... the appellate body reversed a deeply flawed panel report and reaffirmed a fundamental WTO rule that members cannot impose duties on imports that exceed their tariff commitments,” Schwab said. (Source: Business Standard)
November 3, 2008
|
