- Brazil,Australia and Guatemala’s has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up a Dispute settlement panel(DSB) against India’s sugar subsidies.
- The countries have said that most subsidies to sugar producers in India violate WTO rules.Several subsidies such as the State-level export subsidies for sugar,Central assistance and export incentives were inconsistent with the WTO rules.
- The countries have also complained that India has almost doubled the Fair and Remunerative Price for sugarcane and pointed out that mandating the mills to export 5 million tonnes of sugar in 2018-19 had led to substantial pricing pressures on world market prices.
- However,India is likely to point out that most of its subsidies to sugar producers were in the form of production subsidies that were permissible under the WTO.
- Moreover,the subsidies to exporters given for exports were for transportation and marketing purposes which are permitted by the WTO.
- Further,India is likely to block the request for a panel when it is taken up by the DSB in its meeting as India believes that it has not violated WTO rules.
- WTO allows panel requests to be blocked by the affected member once and if the complainants persist and the same request is given for a second time,then the dispute settlement panels are set up.
