Poultry industry welcomes USTR decision to drag India to WTO

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The US poultry industry has applauded the decision of the Obama Administration to drag India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) alleging that New Delhi's decision to ban import of US poultry is unjustified and against internationally acceptable trade practices.

"In our view, India's posture is thinly guised protectionism," said USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) president Jim Summer.

"The Indian economy is growing rapidly, as is its standard of living and its consumption of poultry. It is projected that India will soon be the world's most populous country, and its people must have continued access to an ample supply of affordable protein," Summer said.

By conservative estimates, if India's trade barriers were eliminated, the value of US poultry exports to India each year would surpass USD 300 million, US official observe.

National Chicken Council president Mike Brown said US chicken companies and the farm families that grow chickens are committed to the responsible production of food that is safe, affordable and abundant for consumers in the US and around the world.

"More than 100 countries recognise this fact and enjoy chicken imported from the United States. As the middle class in India continues to expand, and the market moves more toward commercial poultry, the United States should be afforded the opportunity to compete fairly with our products in this growing market," he said alleging that for far too long, India has been using this non-tariff trade barrier to prohibit US poultry.

National Turkey Federation president Joel Brandenberger in a statement commend US Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk on the decision to seek formal consultation with the Indian government to resolve the ban on US poultry to India.

"India's trade policies should conform to the scientifically based standards on avian influenza established by World Organization for Animal Health standards, as US turkey producers adhere to these globally recognised standards. The US turkey industry takes great pride in producing safe, nutritious and affordable foods for consumers around the world. Our industry looks forward to providing this affordable, nutrient-rich protein to India," he said.

For years, US officials and industry leaders alleged, India has used a variety of non-tariff trade barriers to deny access US poultry to the Indian market.

Although international health standards, in particular those of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), identify only highly pathogenic stains of avian influenza as warranting trade restrictions, India has long ignored those international norms and has banned poultry imports from the United States or any country that reports any incident of avian influenza, even cases of low pathogenicity.

"This is a protectionist policy that is inconsistent with accepted international standards, and has no health or safety justification. This policy is particularly problematic in the case of the United States, which is the most efficient poultry producer in the world and the world's leading exporter of poultry products," USTR said.

Despite being one of the 23 founding countries of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (an organisation founded in 1948 that has now become known as the WTO), India has done as little as any nation to open its border to trade or to abide by multilateral trade rules, it said.