INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE KOLKATA CAMPUSwbwto.iift.ac.in/Downloads/News_Letters/NL I_II.pdf6 CEO's roundtable targets US $ 20 billion in India - Canada trade in five years

Vol. I Issue II For Internal Circulation only

A Compilation of News Items on WTO Available Online

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE

KOLKATA CAMPUS

Prepared and Circulated by

The WTO CELL, IIFT (Kolkata Campus)

Note: Articles highlighted in yellow are not directly related to the WTO, but are relevant to India’s International Trade

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WEB DOCUMENTS

THURSDAY (14.06.2007) TO WEDNESDAY (20.06.2007)

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http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jun202007/business200706198325.asp

India hopes US will see reason

Montreal, Reuters:

Union Minister of Trade & Commerce Kamal Nath said he hoped

the US would propose substantial reductions to farm subsidies this week.

India hopes the United States will propose substantial reductions to farm subsidies this week as top trade officials from four countries seek a breakthrough in world trade talks at a meeting in Europe. “I do hope the United States comes with bag full of things tomorrow (Wednesday),” said Union Minister of Trade & Commerce Kamal Nath. Mr Kamal Nath is headed to Potsdam, Germany for a meeting with trade officials from the United States, the European Union and Brazil.

Common ground

The countries are trying to reach common ground on knocking down tariffs and other trade barriers, thereby rescuing World Trade Organization talks from near-collapse. “I do hope that United States moves forward in addressing the issue of domestic support, domestic subsidies because you cannot be talking of fair trade and continue with domestic subsidies,” Mr Kamal Nath told reporters after a speech in Montreal. Without a deal in principle by the end of July, WTO Chief Pascal Lamy and others have warned the so-called Doha round of discussions could fail, stoking the danger of a revival of protectionism.

India wants developing countries to be able to designate 20 per cent of farm tariffs as “special products” — half subject to reduced tariff cuts, the other half with no cuts at all. He also expressed the hope that the completion of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations would go a long way in liberalising and enhancing trade and investment flows between India and Canada.

G 4 meet for decisive talks

Potsdam (Germany), afp: The four key players in the World Trade Organization — the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India — arrived in Potsdam outside the German capital on Tuesday for

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critical talks to break deadlock over a global trade deal. The so-called “G4” group will meet “with their backs against the wall”, said a Geneva-based diplomat, with all players mindful that a similar meeting last year got nowhere and ultimately led to negotiations being suspended for all of the WTO’s 150 members. The talks are expected to continue until the weekend. Germany, invited EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim has warned that this meeting would be “decisive.”

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HTTP://WWW.DW-WORLD.DE/DW/ARTICLE/0,2144,2615924,00.HTML

TRADE | 19.06.2007

Key WTO Players Meet for "Decisive" Talks in

Germany

Will the historic Potsdam Conference table help during the WTO's critical

talks?

Four key players in the World Trade Organization -- the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India -- met on Tuesday in Germany for critical talks to break the deadlock blocking a global trade deal. The so-called "G4" group were meeting in the German city of Potsdam outside Berlin "with their backs against the wall," a Geneva-based diplomat told AFP news service. All were mindful that a similar meeting last year got nowhere and ultimately led to negotiations being suspended for all of the WTO's 150 members. The talks are expected to continue until the weekend. Rising pressure The palace is frequently used for international meetings Germany, which holds the EU presidency until the end of this month, invited EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim to Cecilienhof palace. Amorim has warned that this meeting would be "decisive." German Economy Minister Michael Glos said that as the current president of the EU, Berlin urged all participants to work to clear the logjam. "The pressure is rising on all those involved," he said. "Those blocking a deal are not in Europe."

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CEO's roundtable targets US $ 20 billion in India - Canada trade in five

years

18 June, 2007 A bilateral trade target of US $ 10 billion annually in goods and US $ 10 billion in services, set by the India-Canada CEOs Roundtable at its first meeting in New Delhi last March, was reaffirmed by participants at the second meeting of the Roundtable which was held in Montreal today. Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, who participated in the Roundtable along with the Prime Minister of Quebec Mr. Jean Charest, told the CEOs that India and Canada must seize this opportunity to significantly increase two way trade and investment flows and suggested that alongside the target of US $ 10 billion each annually in bilateral goods and services trade to be achieved in 5 years, India and Canada should work to achieve US $ 5 billion a year in bilateral investment flows by 2012. He also expressed the hope that the completion of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations would go a long way in liberalising and enhancing trade and investment flows between the two countries. "It is heartening that in the last few months, Indian investment in Canada has picked up substantially. Last February, the Aditya Birla Group company Hindalco acquired Novelis for around US $ 6 billion. In April, the Essar Group acquired Algoma Steel for US $ 1.7 billion. Last year, the Tata Group had acquired Teleglobe, a telecommunications company, and the Birlas Minacs Worldwide, a BPO firm. This trend is likely to continue. I also hope that more Canadian companies will invest in India, to exploit the synergies that exist between the two sides", the Minister said. Referring to the economic scenario in India, Shri Kamal Nath informed the Canadian CEOs that the Indian economy had grown by 9% and the aim was to take this growth to 10% in the next couple of years. "Growth of this magnitude would unleash demand of various kinds. We are now faced with the need for better infrastructure, particularly power, roads, energy, environmental technology and raw materials. This would also open-up new opportunities for Indian and Canadian companies to work together in these critical areas. In this context, the recent visits to India by the Minister for International Trade, Mr. David Emerson, and the Canadian Infrastructure delegation, were very useful. We need more such visits from both sides", he said. Earlier, Shri Kamal Nath, who is on an official visit to Canada from 16-18

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June, had bilateral meetings with Mr. David Emerson, Minister of International Trade, Canada; and Mr. Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, besides bilateral interaction with the Premier of Quebec. India and Canada have also concluded negotiations for a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement to provide an impetus to the two-way investments, Shri Kamal Nath said.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Liquor_may_get_rid_of_CVD_hang

over_from_1st/articleshow/2135245.cms

Liquor may get rid of CVD hangover

from 1st

DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2007 04:45:29 AM

NEW DELHI: Come July 1 and your favourite foreign brand of whisky, wine or champagne will burn a smaller hole in your pocket. The Centre is likely to scrap countervailing duty (CVD) on imported liquor from July 1. The government levies additional duties in the range of 20-150% on imported wines and spirits in addition to the Customs duty. While the duty on wines ranges from 20% to 75%, it ranges from 25% to 150% on spirits. The Customs duty on imported liquor ranges from 100% to 150%. The Centre would lose Rs 60 crore annually by removing the CVD. The Centre has sent a communiqué to states asking them to work out a rejig of duties at state level from July 1, a source said. A final decision in this regard was taken last week at a meeting of representatives of various states and officials from the finance and commerce ministries. The meeting decided in favour of scrapping CVD and duty rejig at state level from July 1 as a WTO panel is to discuss the European Union’s complaint against high duties on imported liquor in India in the first week of July. India is keen to address the issue of duty structure before the panel meets. As part of the proposed duty rejig, states would levy a special tax equivalent to cumulative burden of excise and other taxes like luxury tax, brand tax and others imposed on domestic liquor. As per the new structure, the states’ levy would be same for domestic and imported liquor. The states will have to give national treatment to imported liquor in line with the country’s WTO commitment. Higher duties were imposed on imported wines and spirits to protect the domestic industry from the onslaught of foreign brands. In some states, the new consolidated duty could turn out to be lower, resulting in lower prices. However, some states may wish to raise the duty on domestic liquor too in a bid to impose higher duty on imported liquor.

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However, this is a call that states have to take. The Centre has requested them to issue their respective notifications before July to facilitate implementation of the new duty regime from July 1. The WTO had set up a disputes panel on April 24 to investigate the EU’s complaint against Indian duties and taxes on foreign wines and spirits. The EU had complained to the WTO last year that aggregate duty levied on imported wines and spirits in India ranged from 177.33% to 550% which exceeded WTO bound duty level of 150%. With the removal of CVD, India would be able to bring its duty in line with WTO-bound 150%.

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http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2007/19/c6646.html

Attention News Editors:

WTO agricultural negotiations intensify

QUEBEC'S DAIRY AND POULTRY SECTORS JEOPARDIZED: CANADIAN

GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW

QUEBEC, June 19 /CNW Telbec/ - While a major meeting is being held between trade ministers of the G4 countries - the United States, EuropeanUnion, India and Brazil - and in light of the latest proposals by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which are very harmful to them, the Quebec dairy,poultry and egg sectors are challenging the Government of Canada. Quebec's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr. Laurent Lessard, and the President of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) and spokesperson of the GO5 Coalition for a Fair Farming Model, Supply Management, Mr. Laurent Pellerin, stated in a press conference that "The Canadian government is responsible for the WTO negotiations and their outcome. That outcome will be considered positive if and only if the farmers under supply management are winners at the end of these negociations. "Mr. Lessard and Mr. Pellerin were accompanied by the presidents of the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec, Mr. Marcel Groleau, the Eleveurs de volailles du Québec, Mr. Martin Dufresne, the Fédération des producteurs d'oeufs de consommation du Québec, Mr. Serge Lefebvre, the Syndicat des producteurs d'oeufs d'incubation du Québec, Mr. Gyslain Loyer, and the Coopfédérée, Mr. Denis Richard, all Coalition GO5 partners. The reference document submitted at the end of April by the Chairman of Agricultural Negotiations, Crawford Falconer, anticipated major decreases in customs tariffs that would prevent Canada from controlling its imports in sectors under supply management. "It is clear that what is currently being discussed at the WTO will not allow Canada to reach its objective. On the contrary, the modalities proposed would have disastrous effects on the dairy and poultry sectors," stated Mr. Pellerin. Mr. Pellerin reminded the federal government of its commitment to achieve a positive outcome for the sectors under supply management at the end of this round of negotiations. The stakes are high, since these sectors represent nearly $3 billion in farm income, or more than 40% of the Quebec total. They keep 75,000 people employed and generate several billions of dollars in economic benefits Following the example of other countries such as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, it is up to Canada to advocate the particular

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sensitivity of its sectors under supply management to obtain special measures. "What we are doing here today is very important. We are showing the other WTO member countries that supply management is a major issue for Quebec and Canada. We are offering all our support to the Minister of Agriculture in order to achieve the objective of a positive final outcome for supply management," said Mr. Lessard. A great deal of the current agricultural trade problems are the result of agricultural subsidizing by the US and Europe. Both the United States and Europe have changed their farm subsidies in order to maintain support despite the reductions proposed by the WTO. Coalition spokesperson Mr. Pellerin pointed out that less than 10% of world food products are traded between countries. Even in Canada, which is the fourth largest world exporter of agricultural products, 70% of farm income is derived from the domestic market Mr. Pellerin emphasized that supply management, which has been practiced in Canada for almost forty years for dairy and poultry sectors, fosters quality home-grown food at reasonable prices and allows family farms to earn a fair income from the marketplace without the need for government subsidies. Supply management encourages local farming that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation of food products. For the President of the UPA, this unique model embodies the founding principles of the right to food sovereignty that is being increasingly promoted around the world. Beyond the immediate issues, he believes that an alternative to the all-out liberalization of agricultural trade proposed by the WTO is necessary. The right to food sovereignty, supply management and collective marketing are future solutions to achieve this goal in the interest of all. "The Canadian government should show leadership at the international level and propose food sovereignty and supply management as the basis for sustainable agricultural and agri-food development," concluded Mr. Pellerin. "In addition to being an excellent way to fill the plates of Quebec families with Quebec products, supply management is being used all over Quebec and contributing to the economic and social vitality of Quebec's regions. For us, it is the identify Quebec agriculture. That is why the federal government must do everything it can to promote and defend supply management, the key element of our agricultural sector," concluded Mr. Lessard. Since its creation in 2003, the GO5 Coalition for a Fair Farming Model, Supply Management, has been able to rally to its cause nearly 30,000 supports and a number of organizations that believe in a strong agricultural sector and a prosperous food industry. This coalition brings together farmers, agri-food partners, companies, financial institutions, consumer groups unions, municipalities, MNAs, MPs and individuals. Its actions are intended to support the Canadian government in its efforts to obtain the conditions

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necessary for the preservation of the supply management system at the end of the current WTO round of negotiations. More information is available on the Internet site www.go5quebec.ca. For further information: André Ménard, Press Officer, Office of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (418) 380-2525; Patrice Juneau, Public Affairs Advisor, Union des producteurs agricoles, (450) 679-0540, ext. 8591, Cell.: (514) 971-3699

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http://www.ipwatch.org/weblog/index.php?p=660&res=&res=1024&prin

t=0

WIPO Development Meeting Side-Events Held On

Patents, Competition, Implementation

19 June 2007

posted by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen @ 10:36 am By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Side-events were held by a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), an intergovernmental organisation and the Canadian competition authority last week alongside the negotiations for a Development Agenda at the World Intellectual Property Organization. They focused on implementation of such an agenda in developing countries, the relationship between intellectual property rights and competition rules, and patents on pharmaceuticals in India versus China.

A 14 June event held by the Geneva-based NGO International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) focused on the fact that the 11-15 June meeting of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA) was not “only a diplomatic exercise” but “goes beyond that,” reflecting that it will also be up to member states to implement what will be agreed, said Pedro Roffe of ICTSD, who led the meeting. He said this would be about integrating the development dimension into intellectual property.

The PCDA meeting resulted in agreement on 21 proposals and recommendations for autumn General Assembly (IPW, WIPO, 18 June 2007). The draft report of the meeting will be available on 16 July with a deadline for comments of 31 July, according to officials.

Carolyn Deere, Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford and resident scholar at ICTSD, discussed “Comparing national approaches to promoting coherence between public policy objectives and IP laws,” arguing for greater attention to the process and organisation of IP decision-making at the national and regional level. She highlighted that most developing countries face numerous challenges to coordination within national governments and emphasised the need for greater attention to the lessons from countries which have made advances in this respect.

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Deere gave examples of coordination processes in Brazil and India which involve a range of relevant ministries and government agencies in IP decision-making, and in Senegal, which also draws on national experts and civil society. Countries such as Peru and Colombia, on the other hand, suffered from lack of internal coordination in this area which proved problematic when negotiating bilateral deals, she said.

Deere also highlighted the degree to which technical assistance provided by WIPO, bilateral donors, industry and civil society can influence the implementation and administration of IP laws, emphasising that these often have “enormous power” in developing countries. Another concern related to regulatory capture in the area of IP, meaning that the governance of the IP system is too often the domain of an ‘insider community’ comprised of the IP office, IP rights holders and IP attorneys with insufficient input from stakeholders such as consumers, scientists, or the open source community.

Mohi El Din Mabrouk of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) discussed the organisation, which is based in Harare, Zimbabwe and has 16 member states. Among its activities is to set up a Master’s programme in collaboration with the University of Zimbabwe and WIPO, he said.

Mabrouk described a triangle in which IP, creation and finance are all needed. He told a story of his family’s financial difficulties after it lost control of the local market in Sudan for a special pudding his grandmother knew how to make because a well-funded British company came in, bringing new technologies. His grandmother lacked the financing in the triangle, he said. Despite her having been an inventor, “the industry of my grandmother collapsed,” he said.

Sisule Musungu, Geneva-based IP researcher, said developed countries would have to focus on implementation of the Development Agenda, referring to technical assistance programmes. He said it might be useful at the regional level in developing countries to set up advisory committees on trade-related IP policies.

Carolina Belmar, head of the intellectual property department at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said they had set up an interagency body in 2005 including members from the agencies responsible for foreign affairs, IP, health, culture, economics, agriculture and education to coordinate Chile’s position. She said this had become necessary after Chile began negotiating bilateral free trade agreements, of which it has signed more than 15 covering 48 countries. She said the importance of IP is “relatively new” in national policy in Chile.

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Canada organised a side-event on 13 June at which it presented the preliminary conclusions of five studies it commissioned on topics related to competition law and intellectual property.

An official from the Canadian Competition Bureau told Intellectual Property Watch that the drafts are not available yet, but will form a book to be published by the end of the year. Once the papers have been examined by the bureau, he said, they will become available on its website, www.bc-cb.gc.ca.

The official said it is too early to say whether any of the authors’ conclusions - which he said are their own conclusions and have not been endorsed by the bureau - would lead to changes in Canadian regulation. At the event, he presented the brief preliminary conclusions of each of the five studies.

A study on “authorised generics,” which are brand name products sold as generics, concluded that they did not impact competition in terms of prices, as the average drug prices still dropped by 12 percent when the authorised generics were introduced. There was no direct assessment of whether the threat of these authorised generics might deter entry by independent generics.

The study on “extension of IP rights,” examined “strategies used to try and extend IP rights beyond statutory limits,” he said. The study concluded that the appropriate solution to guard against this depends on the context, and could be related to the enforcement of weak or uncertain IP rights.

A third study on “tying and IP” looked at “the practice of tying in relation to IP rights in order to identify circumstances where tying could be used in a manner to extend IP protection or block entry and innovation.” Tying means tying non-proprietary products to other produces already covered by IP to save costs or for risk sharing reasons, the presentation said. The conclusion here was that there are no “general rules of thumb” that antitrust agencies can use to decide whether a tying situation is anticompetitive.

A fourth study looked at competition and copyright collective societies, of which Canada has more than any other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member, the presentation said. It concluded that these collectives are “more efficient even if technology reduces transaction costs” in terms of disseminating creative works and generating revenues for creators.

Finally, one study looked at compulsory licensing from a domestic perspective, examining the Canadian Patent Act as well as Section 32 of the Competition Act. Canada has a special regulation, called “Section 32,” which could be used if there is an imbalance between IP and competition law, but it has not been used since 1912.

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Under Section 32, the federal court “has the power to make remedial orders where it finds that use has been made of the exclusive rights and privileges conferred by certain IP rights, when such use unduly restrains trade or lessens competition,” the presentation said. Among the remedies could be declaring the agreement or licensing void, ordering licensing of the rights, revoking the right or restraining trade, the presentation said.

The Canadian official said, however, that the bureau had to “be very careful” not to undermine the IP system, and said there had been much more friction between IP and competition 25 to 30 years ago.

The study concluded that, “no major changes are required to Canada’s compulsory licensing provisions,” as the commissioner of patents and the Competition Tribunal have requisite expertise and the process is fair and transparent, the presentation said. (For more details on the studies, see IPW

Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 4).

South Centre Side-Event on India, China, Patents

At a 12 June side-event held by the intergovernmental South Centre, Xuan Li, lead economist and acting coordinator of the centre’s Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, presented a study comparing the impact of the patent regimes in India and China on pharmaceuticals.

The study, “Do higher standards of patent protection generate a positive impact on the pharmaceutical industry in developing countries?” compared the 12 years during which China had both process and product patents for pharmaceuticals, while India had only process patents. A product patent means that other companies are in principle not allowed to copy the product while it is in force, and it is considered a higher standard of patent protection than having only process patents. Product patents were required under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) when it came into force in 1995, though developing countries had longer to implement. China introduced product patents for pharmaceuticals in 1993, Li said, and joined the WTO in December 2001.

India, meanwhile, had product patents until the 1970s, when it abolished the system. It had only process patents on pharmaceuticals until 2005, Li said. Among her conclusions was that using TRIPS flexibilities “can offset [the] negative impact of TRIPS.” This was shown in the lower medicine prices and often improved availability in India over China, she said.

Christoph Spennemann, a legal expert in technology transfer and intellectual property at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said the study showed that one needs a broad public domain at

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the early stage for follow-up innovation to occur. He emphasised the importance of timing for those depending on reverse engineering and adaptation, saying that India had introduced product patents at the right time, but China had introduced them too early.

Spennemann also referred to a 2006 Swiss study, which showed that stronger patent protection is not always equal to more innovation, as after a certain maximum level of innovation, the curve will fall, after which more protection will only lead to less innovation.

Carsten Fink, senior economist at the World Bank Institute, said he agreed with one of the key conclusions from the study that the abolition of product patents in India in the 1970s did play an important role in developing a pharmaceutical industry as it is known today. But he emphasised that one does not know what would have happened had this change not taken place.

Fink also suggested caution on the exact timing of the introduction of product patent protection as, for example, India had the mailbox system in place, under which one could file a patent before 2005. But a special clause in the 2005 law allows Indian firms to continue production of products for which patents are granted provided they paid royalties. Fink called for more empirical facts before drawing a conclusion on the difference between the India and China scenarios.

Jayashree Watal from WTO echoed this, saying that there were also other mechanisms than the abolition of product patents in India during this time, such as an act making it less favourable for foreign companies to be based there, and a drug policy making it mandatory to manufacture from the basic stage in India, including the active substance of which a medicine is made.

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http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/association-

news/ciionline/newsdetails.aspx?News_id=36695

India : CII, CCEA to study feasibility of FTA with Canada

June 20, 2007

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) have agreed to set up a task force to study the feasibility of India-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the second meeting of the India-Canada CEOs Forum held in Montreal, a press release issued by the CII. The Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIFA) that is being negotiated between India and Canada is the first step towards the FTA between the two countries. The two sides have set a target of $ 20 billion bilateral trade and $ 5 billion bilateral investment flow, the release said. Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, who addressed the Forum along with the Prime Minister of Quebec Mr. Jean Charest and Minister for International Trade Canada, Mr David Emerson, told the CEOs that India and Canada must seize this opportunity to significantly increase two-way trade and investment flows and suggested that alongside the target of US $ 10 billion each annually in bilateral goods and services trade to be achieved in five years, India and Canada should work to achieve US $ 5 billion a year in bilateral investment flows by 2012. He also expressed the hope that the completion of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations would go a long way in liberalising and enhancing trade and investment flows between the two countries, the release said. Referring to the economic scenario in India, Mr. Kamal Nath informed the Canadian CEOs that the Indian economy had grown by 9% and the aim was to take this growth to 10% in the next couple of years.

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WEB DOCUMENTS

PRIOR TO 14.06.2007

(This section will continue till all major news items from 01.05.2007 to 10.06.2007)

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http://www.businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=286945&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&ch

kFlg=

India in thick of global anti-dumping moves

BS Reporter / New Delhi June 7, 2007

Even though India accounts for only 1 per cent of global exports, it is at the receiving end of 4 per cent anti-dumping actions across the world. According to the latest government data, out of 2,938 anti-dumping actions between January 1995 and June 2006, India faced 124 investigations. Anti-dumping investigation is initiated when the industry complains to the government against cheap imports as a result of unfair practices by the foreign country. The government then initiates a probe and initiates anti-dumping measures like imposing extra duty. At a recent trade policy review meeting at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India pointed out that of the 124 anti-dumping probes against it, measures were taken in 69 cases, leading to considerable loss of trade. According to Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Exporters, the anti-dumping duty on Indian exports is in the range of 5-20 per cent. “The European Union tops the list with around 11 anti-dumping cases, followed by the US, South Africa and Canada,” he said. India has also been taking anti-dumping measures frequently by launching more than 440 investigations. “We should not go by numbers as the impact of the anti-dumping measures initiated against India is much higher than the ones initiated by India,” said Neeraj Varshney, an anti-dumping expert. According to Varshney, the economic impact of anti-dumping actions — like that on bed linens initiated by the EU — was equal to at least a dozen actions initiated by India. The EU has since then withdrawn the anti-dumping duty. Another significant case of anti-dumping measure against India relates to shrimp exports to the US. Over and above the anti-dumping duty, the US charges a custom bond. The WTO has set up a dispute settlement panel to investigate this.

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India pointed out at the WTO that its metal products sector was the worst-hit with 22 probes against it. The chemical and plastics sectors saw 15 actions each and were followed by the textile sector (eight actions). Experts point out that these sectors are the ones in which the country has gained competitive edge in the global market. Sahai says Indian companies look for alternative markets when a country initiates anti-dumping measures against its exports. Varshney said, “A mere investigation hits the country under review, as international clients from the country which initiates investigation switch over to other sources.”

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http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20070522/22577.htm

India's share in global trade increases: WTO report

India has been able to grab a significant portion of the world trade pie with its

booming economy and a billion-plus market, says a report by the World Trade

Organisation (WTO).

New Delhi, Delhi, India, 2007-05-22 17:45:01

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India has been able to grab a significant portion of the world trade pie with its booming economy and a billion-plus market, says a report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). According to the World Trade Statistics report, India's share in the global trade, including trade in merchandise and services sector, has increased from 1.1 percent in 2004 to 1.5 percent in 2006. 'Based on the current rates of growth of merchandise and services trade, it is expected that India's share in world trade covering merchandise plus service sector trade may well double from the level of 2004 to cross the two percent mark in 2009,' Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said in a statement Tuesday. The study also noted that in merchandise trade alone India's share might go up to 1.5 percent in 2009 from the current 1.2 percent. India's total trade in merchandise stood at $294 billion in 2006, while its trade in services was pegged at $143 billion, taking the country's overall trade in merchandise and services up by 72 percent at $437 billion from the $253 billion in 2004.

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http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-06-04-wto-wrap_N.htm

WTO to investigate U.S. fees on European imports

GENEVA (AP) — The World Trade Organization established a panel Monday to investigate anti-dumping duties the United States applies on 52 European products from ball bearings to Italian pasta, in another trans-Atlantic trade dispute.

The European Union says Washington's continued use of a complicated procedure for determining dumping fees on the products violates global trade rules. The United States contends that it is already reconsidering how it calculates the levies and that EU litigation is unnecessary.

"The (EU) would have preferred to avoid a further dispute, but in these circumstances finds no alternative," said Raimund Raith, a trade negotiator for the 27-nation bloc.

Washington blocked the EU's first request for an investigation at a meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body last month. Under WTO rules, a panel's establishment can only be delayed once.

Governments investigate dumping when they suspect that producers are exporting products at below the market price in their own country — usually because exports have been subsidized or if it is believed there is an attempt to corner the market.

The WTO has previously chided the USA in disputes with the EU, Canada and others for how it determines what anti-dumping fees to apply, known in trade jargon as "zeroing." Panels have consistently found that zeroing leads to artificial and inflated margins of dumping, and thus higher duties.

A WTO case can result in punitive sanctions being authorized, but panels take many months, and sometimes years, to reach a decision.

India blocks probe of duties on U.S. wine

India blocked a World Trade Organization investigation of its import duties on American wine and spirits Monday, temporarily delaying a U.S. government

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complaint over allegations that Indian rules discriminate against products such as Napa Valley wine and Jack Daniel's whiskey.

The trade panel is already reviewing a European legal challenge of wine and liquor restrictions in a number of Indian states. A second investigative panel examining Washington's arguments will almost certainly be established at a meeting later this month of the WTO's dispute settlement body.

India's basic import duties on wine are 100%, while the tariff on spirits is 150%, both within WTO limits. However, various government surcharges take the tariffs up to levels reaching as high as 550%, depending on the Indian state.

The state of Tamil Nadu goes further still, shutting out foreign alcohol and allowing shops to sell only Indian-made spirits and wines.

The United States, the European Union and Japan, by contrast, allow nearly all spirits to enter their markets duty-free. China tacks on a 10% charge on foreign liquor.

India criticized Washington's decision Monday to bring the case to the WTO as "very unfortunate and disappointing." India said it is considering changing its rules to resolve the dispute, a claim it also made in criticizing Brussels' move to bring its case to the WTO.

India is one of the largest markets for alcohol in the world and has huge potential for growth.

The United States said wine sales in India through special duty-free rules, such as at airports and luxury hotels, grew 350% between 2000 and 2005. The growth was 200% for American liquors.

But high import duties imposed on the vast majority of American wines and spirits means total exports remain low, the United States says. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States estimates that all foreign liquors together account for less than 1% of the Indian market.

Argentina wants more duties on U.S. goods

The World Trade Organization set up an arbitration panel Monday to assess Argentina's request to impose annual sanctions worth $44 million against the United States because of illegal duties on steel tubes, drill pipes, castings and other Argentinian goods used in the oil and gas industry.

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The WTO ruled in December 2004 that U.S. anti-dumping duties on Argentinian oil industry goods violated global trade rules. Subsequent decisions confirmed U.S. non-compliance.

The United States challenged Argentina's request for authorization to apply sanctions, according to trade officials present at Monday's closed-door meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body. American officials said that the U.S. International Trade Commission would probably revoke the charge, eliminating the need for Argentina to retaliate.

Argentina says the $44 million represents the amount of trade lost because of the U.S. measure. It aims to retaliate by placing additional duties on American goods entering Argentina. The South American country has yet to say which specific American products it would target.

The WTO arbitration panel established Monday can only decide on the size of the penalty. The United States would have to initiate separate proceedings if it seeks to claim that it has brought its fees into compliance with global trade rules.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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NEW REFERENCES ON WTO

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Title of Paper Abstract Web Address

Foreign Banking: Do

Countries’ WTO

Commitments Match

Actual

Practices?

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (known as the GATS) is an important new element in the

international framework that affects the regulation of every

WTO Member's financial sector. However,

except for a limited number of country-specific case studies, no attempt has been made to compare WTO

commitments to open the domestic banking sector to

foreign banks with actual regulatory practice in a systematic and comprehensive manner on a cross-country

basis. Nor has much attention been devoted

to systematically and comprehensively assess the degree to

which WTO Members discriminate against foreign bank. This paper draws upon a new and

comprehensive dataset consisting of the commitments

countries made at the WTO and the regulations actually imposed on foreign banks by those countries. The

dataset covers 123 WTO Members for whom there was

also information available on their current regulatory regime for banking (based on the responses to a

World Bank survey as discussed in Barth,

Caprio, and Levine (2006)). On the basis of that data, the

authors develop indices measuring the degree of openness to foreign banking based upon both

commitments made and actual regulatory practice, with a

view to assessing the overall extent to which countries open their borders to foreign banks more than they

are legally obliged to do based upon their WTO

commitments. The dataset is also used to assess the overall extent to which countries discriminate against

foreign banks by regulating them less favorably

than domestic banks. Although our results are still quite

preliminary, they do show substantial divergences between commitments and practices. Indices

of market openness and discrimination reveal

wide differences among the 123 countries in the sample. The paper also identifies various factors that

help explain the level of commitments that WTO Members

have made.

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

Determining "likeness"

under the GATS:

Squaring the circle?

The concept of "like services and service suppliers"

used in the General Agreement on Trade

in Services (GATS) is still very much uncharted

territory. The few dispute cases involving

national treatment and most-favoured-nation treatment

claims under the GATS are vague

concerning the criteria which should be used to establish

"likeness". Discussions among

WTO Members on this subject have remained limited

and inconclusive. Perhaps the only

point on which everybody agrees is that a determination

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

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of "likeness" under the GATS gives

rise to a wider range of questions – and uncertainties –

than under the GATT. The

intangibility of services, the difficulty to draw a line

between product and production, the

existence of four modes of supply, the combined

reference to like services and like service

suppliers, and the lack of a detailed nomenclature are

some of the factors which complicate

the task of establishing "likeness" in services trade.

This contribution focuses on the concept of "likeness" in

the context of the national treatment

obligation (Article XVII of the GATS). It discusses the

possible implications of the

combined reference to "like services and service

suppliers", as well as the relevance and role

of the modes of supply in determining "likeness". It also

examines whether the criteria

developed by GATT case-law (physical properties,

classification, end-use and consumer

tastes) can be mechanically transposed to services trade

and how far they may contribute to

establishing "likeness" under the GATS. It then

discusses whether other parameters, such as

the regulatory context or an "aim and effect" type

approach could be relevant.

A ‘Probabilistic’

Approach to the Use of

Econometric Models in

Sunset Reviews

Economists have increasingly become involved in trade remedy and litigation matters that call for economic

interpretation or quantification. The literature on the use of

econometric methods in response to legal requirements of trade policy is rather limited. This article contributes to

filling this gap by demonstrating the efficacy of using a

simple ‘probabilistic’ model in analyzing the ‘likelihood’

of injury to the local industry concerned, following a finding of continuation or recurrence of dumping (or

countervailable subsidies). The legal concept of

‘likelihood’ is not only particularly well-suited to illustrate the systemic need for trade lawyers and economists to

cooperate. It is also of imminent practical relevance with a

groundswell of ‘sunset’ reviews looming on the horizon. We discuss the significance of economic analysis for trade

remedy investigations by reviewing the literature, the

applicable WTO rules and, in particular, the pertinent case

law. The potential value of probabilistic simulations for ‘likelihood’ determinations is exemplified using a real-

world application. Using data from past United States

International Trade Commission investigations, we find that a probabilistic model that takes account of the

uncertainty surrounding economic parameters reduces the

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

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risk of misjudging the effect on the domestic industry of a

termination of trade remedies.

Non-Reciprocal

Preference Erosion

Arising From MFN

Liberalization in

Agriculture:

What Are the Risks?

This paper estimates the risk of preference erosion for

non-reciprocal preference recipients in the

agricultural sector as a consequence of MFN tariff

cuts. It is based on a simulation of a single tariff-

cutting scenario. The measure of preference erosion

risk is the difference in preference margins enjoyed

by individual suppliers to the QUAD (Canada, EU,

Japan, United States) markets before and after a MFN

tariff reduction, multiplied by the associated trade

flow. The paper does not attempt to determine how

losses in preference margins translate into trade

outcomes, but it does highlight which products and

which non-reciprocal preference beneficiaries are the

most vulnerable to erosion effects in the major

developed country markets. Overall, the paper finds

that the risk of preference erosion is small, but some

countries are strongly affected in particular product

lines (notably sugar and bananas).

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

Forecasting Trade

This paper develops a set of time series models to provide

short-term forecasts (6 to 18 months ahead)

of international trade both at the global level and for

selected regions. Our results compare favourably to other forecasts, notably by the International Monetary

Fund, as measured by standard evaluation

measures, such as the root mean square forecast error. In comparison to other models, our approach

offers several methodological advantages, inter alia, a

focus on import growth as the core variable, the avoidance of certain difficulties affecting the

performance of structural models, the selection of

variables and lags on the basis of theoretical considerations

and empirical testing as well as a full documentation of the modelling process.

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

The Impact Of Disasters

On International Trade

In this paper we examine the impact of major disasters on

international trade flows using a gravity

model. Our panel data consists of more than 170 countries for the years 1962-2004 yielding

approximately 300,000 observations. We find that the

driving forces determining the impact of such events are the democracy level and, to a lesser extent, the

area of the affected country. The less

democratic and the smaller a country the more are its trade flows reduced in case it is struck by a

disaster. We are also able to distinguish between the effect

of a disaster on an importing and an

exporting country.

www.wto.org/English/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm

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