India and US reach resolution on final WTO trade dispute over poultry

India-US consensus: India and the United States have successfully resolved their final trade dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concerning poultry products, as confirmed in a joint statement released on Friday.

This development marks the conclusion of all seven outstanding trade disputes between the two nations at the WTO.

"The leaders praised the resolution of the seventh and final WTO dispute between India and the United States. This achievement follows the historic settlement of six bilateral trade disputes at the WTO in June 2023," stated the joint release.

The announcement came after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., who is in New Delhi to participate in the upcoming G20 Summit over the weekend.

Bilateral defence partnership

During their discussions, Modi and President Biden expressed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral defence partnership and commended progress in India's acquisition of 31 drones and joint efforts in developing jet engines.

The leaders engaged in extensive conversations regarding India's role as the G20 presidency, cooperation in nuclear energy, and collaboration in critical and emerging technologies like 6G and artificial intelligence. They also explored ways to reshape multilateral development banks fundamentally.

The resolution of the seventh dispute was discussed during a previous meeting between US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in the preceding month.

Both parties had instructed their respective teams to continue negotiations to reach a resolution promptly.

Resolution of six trade disputes

During Modi's visit to the United States in June, the two nations announced the resolution of six trade disputes at the WTO, accompanied by India's removal of tariffs on specific US products, including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents.

The poultry case initiated by the United States against India dates back to 2012. India faced adverse rulings at both the panel and appellate body levels, with the WTO determining that New Delhi's ban on imports of poultry products from the United States was inconsistent with global trade norms.

Due to India's inability to implement the decision within the prescribed time frame, the United States had requested compensation. Subsequently, both nations engaged in discussions to reach a mutually acceptable resolution.

It's worth noting that the United States is India's largest trading partner, and bilateral goods trade reached $128.8 billion in 2022-23, up from $119.5 billion in 2021-22.

(With PTI inputs)