WTO panels to rule on complaints against India's sugar export subsidies

The World Trade Organization (WTO) set up panels on Thursday to rule on complaints by Australia, Brazil and Guatemala against India's export subsidies for sugar and sugarcane producers which they assert are illegal, a Geneva trade official said.

The decision was automatic upon the complainants' second request at a closed-door meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body.

India will keep its sugar export subsidies despite complaints to the WTO from rival producers, though it will tweak how it provides them, four sources directly involved in the matter said told Reuters in Mumbai last month.