Latest in growing trend of US attacks on Indian industry.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: US Trade Representative Michael Froman announced earlier today that the US has filed a case against India for alleged malfeasance occurring within its solar power program.
Froman, who made the charges public at a news conference this afternoon, told reporters that the US has officially filed the case with the World Trade Organization (WTO). In it, the US alleges that India is discriminating against American manufacturing companies, thereby violating international trade agreements.
The charge is the second such allegation levied against India’s burgeoning solar power project, which aims to solve India growing energy crisis by installing solar panels and harvesting the sun’s energy for electrical power. Last February, the US said that India was discriminating against American companies by mandating that only Indian supplies and solar panels be used on the project.
India retaliated against the accusation in April, saying that the US had a hidden agenda in pushing its own workers and products in India rather than use domestically created goods. It is not yet clear whether the new WTO case has anything to do with the first round of allegations, but India has apparently been notified despite comments by Trade Minister Anand Sharma to the contrary.
The US-India relationship will almost certainly take another hit that it can ill-afford, as it still recovering from the strain incurred by the Devyani Khobragade incident. In addition to that, there is the matter of US federal agencies repeatedly downgrading India’s aviation and pharmaceutical sectors, and India’s patent protection system being ranked last in the world only a few weeks ago. Despite all this, however, trade between the two countries hit a new record of nearly $64 billion in 2013.
There have been a total of 14 cases filed with the WTO between the US and India, although not all are still active. The US and India will consult on the matter at the WTO over the course of the next 60 days; if an agreement is not arrived at between the two countries by the time those 60 days have expired, the US may (and likely will) request the WTO to create a separate panel that will investigate the US allegations on its own.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com