The United States is pressing the World Trade Organization (WTO) for rapid enforcement of findings where the WTO rejected India’s appeal of their ruling in favor of the U.S. challenge to the Domestic Content Requirements (DCR) for manufacturing solar cells and modules. The WTO found that India’s localization rules discriminate against U.S. manufacturers.
A release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative stated that the Obama Administration is strongly committed to enforcing the rights of the United States under trade agreements and will use every tool at their disposal to expedite the case for the benefit of American businesses and workers.
When asked about the development in the U.S., a Ministry of Commerce official told Mercom that a deviation settlement vehicle (DSV) meeting will take place on October 14, 2016, where the WTO ruling will be adopted. After that, the government will have a one-month period to reply. Once that is done, a dialogue will be carried forward and a timeframe for compliance decided. The official also said that in the past, India has provided the U.S. with a longer (15 months) timeframe for trade compliance and is expecting reciprocation from the U.S.
A Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) source has previously told Mercom that the agency had been asked to prepare a case study according to which India will seek a compliance timeframe from the U.S.
Image credit: ObamaWhiteHouse.gov
