[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53855-53856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27482]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
[Docket No. WTO/D-21]
WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding Indian Import
Restrictions on Agricultural, Textile and Industrial Products
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 127(b)(1) of the Uruguay Agreements Act
(URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3527(b)(1)), the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) is providing notice that the United States has
requested establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO), to examine
quantitative restrictions maintained by India on over 2700
agricultural, textile and industrial product tariff lines. In this
dispute the United States alleges that India's quantitative
restrictions are inconsistent with Articles XI, XIII and XVIIII of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), and Article
4.2 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, and Article 3 of the WTO
Agreement on Imports Licensing Procedures. USTR also invites written
comments from the public concerning the issues raised in the dispute.
DATES: Although USTR will accept any comments received during the
course of the dispute settlement proceedings, comments should be
submitted on or before November 10, 1997 to be assured if timely
consideration by USTR in preparing its first written submission to the
panel.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Ileana Falticeni, Office of
Monitoring and Enforcement, Room 501, Attn: India Import Restrictions
Dispute, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20508.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rick Ruzicka, Office of Asian & the Pacific (202) 395-4755, Elena
Bryan, Office of WTO and Multilateral Affairs, (202) 395-5079, Amelia
Porges, Senior Counsel for Dispute Settlement, (202) 395-7305, or
Gregory Gerdes, Office of Monitoring and Enforcement, (202) 395-3582).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 3, 1997, the United States
requested the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel to
examine whether quantitative restrictions maintained by India are
inconsistent with India's obligation under the GATT 1994, the Agreement
on Agriculture and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. The
WTO Dispute Settlement Body is likely to establish the panel no later
than November 18, 1997. Under normal circumstances, the panel, which
will hold its meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, would be expected to
issue a report detailing findings and recommendations within nine
months after it is established.
Major Issues Raised by the United States and Legal Basis of
Complaint
Since the 1940s, India has maintained quantitative restrictions on
imports of many agricultural, textile and industrial products. These
restrictions were formerly maintained under provisions of the GATT
which permit import restrictions to protect against a serious decline
in a GATT member's foreign exchange reserves, or in the case of a GATT
member with inadequate reserves, to achieve a reasonable rate of
increase in those reserves. However, India's foreign exchange situation
no longer justifies import restrictions; this fact has been recognized
by the International Monetary Fund.
There are currently 2,714 eight-digit Indian tariff line items (one
third of India's tariff schedule) subject to import restrictions or
prohibitions for which no claim of legal justification has been made
other than the GATT balance-of-payments provisions. These items are
also subject to a complex and non-transparent import licensing system.
The United States believes that these measures are inconsistent with
several provisions of the WTO agreements. It appears that India's
maintenance of import quotas is inconsistent with Articles XI:1 and
XVIII:11 of the GATT 1994, and is not justified as a balance-of-
payments measure under Article XVIII of the GATT 1994; India's
maintenance of import quotas is also inconsistent with Article 4.2 of
the Agreement on Agriculture; and India's import licensing procedures
and practices are inconsistent with Article XIII:3(b) of the GATT 1994
and Article 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.
Public Comment: Requirements for Submissions
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning the issues raised in the dispute. Comments must be in
English and provided in fifteen copies. A person requesting that
information contained in a comment submitted by that person be treated
as confidential business information must certify that such information
is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the
public by the commenter. Confidential business information must be
clearly marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' in a contrasting color ink at
the top of each page of each copy.
Information or advice contained in a comment submitted, other than
business confidential information, may be determined by USTR to be
confidential in accordance with section 135(g)(2) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155(g)(2)). If the submitter believes that information
or advice may qualify as such, the submitter--
(1) Must so designate that information or advice;
(2) Must clearly mark the material as ``SUBMITTED IN CONFIDENCE''
in a contrasting color ink at the top of each page of each copy; and
(3) Is encouraged to provide a non-confidential summary of the
information or advice.
Pursuant to section 127(e) of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3537(e)), USTR
will maintain a file on this dispute
[[Page 53856]]
settlement proceeding, accessing to the public in the USTR Reading
Room: Room 101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600
17th Street, NW., Washington DC 20508. The public file will include a
listing of any comments received by USTR from the public with respect
to the proceeding; the U.S. submissions to the panel in the proceeding;
the submissions, or non-confidential summaries of submissions, to the
panel received from other participants in the dispute, as well as the
report of the dispute settlement panel and, if applicable, the report
of the Appellate Body. An appointment to review the public file (Docket
WTO/D-21 (``India Import Restrictions Dispute'') may be made by calling
Brenda Webb, (202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is open to the
public from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
Amelia Porges,
Senior Counsel for Dispute Settlement.
[FR Doc. 97-27482 Filed 10-15-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M