The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO has set up a panel at India?s request over the US imposition of countervailing duties on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India. New Delhi argues that the measure is inconsistent with several provisions of the agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures and the GATT, 1994.
Members which reserved their third-party rights were the EU, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Turkey and Australia.
India acknowledged at the meeting that every WTO member has a right to levy countervailing duties, but this right can be exercised only within the framework of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the GATT, 1994.
Steel exports by leading Indian manufacturers (Jindal and Tata) have been rendered uncompetitive in the US because of the CVD imposed there. According to India, provisional CVD measures imposed by the US on 20 April 2001 were made final after the US conducted a sunset review, with effect from December 3, 2001. The US extended these measures for a further five years.