October 15, 2014

A dispute panel of the World Trade Organization ruled on Tuesday, October 14, against India's import ban on US poultry and other farm products.

India imposed the ban in 2007 over bird flu fears and the US brought the case to the WTO in 2012.

In its decision, the WTO panel describes those fears "unsubstantiated" and agreed with the US position that the ban is discriminatory.

"This is a major victory for American farmers," said US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who called the poultry decision "the fourth major WTO victory" for the United States this year. "Our farmers produce the finest, and safest, agricultural products in the world."

The US Trade Representative said the most recent outbreak of high pathogenic avian flu in the United States was in 2004 while India has had over 90 such outbreaks since that time.

India has 60 days to appeal the ruling. If the WTO sustains it, the US could be allowed access to India's US$300 million a year chicken market as early as next year, although the South Asian country could still try to restrict them using other measures such as anti-dumping duties.

"India's ban was thinly veiled protectionism," James Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Council, and Michael Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, said in a joint statement. "Free and fair trade, particularly with food, should never be used as a political bargaining chip."

The council agrees that the ruling does not give the US automatic access to India's market, which is estimated to be approximately 2.6 million tonnes of US chicken annually, and is growing at a rate of 8% 10% per year.

"We recognize that work remains to open India's market – but this ruling is an important step toward securing that objective. We hope that the new Indian administration will be amenable to working with the US government and industry to remove all restrictions and allow access for US poultry in the near future," Sumner and Brown said.

 "US producers are ready and have been ready to provide high quality poultry and poultry products to the Indian market," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The US competes with Brazil as the world's largest exporter of chicken) meat.