[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