Us Blocks Indian Move For Wto Panel On Shrimp Exports

An attempt to set up a panel to resolve the dispute between India and the United States on shrimp imports failed with the US arguing that it was not yet ready to agree to the Indian request for formation of the panel. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has agreed to revert to this matter at a later meeting, sources said.

In its argument, India has said it had no objections to countries implementing environmental measures within their territories and that it supported conservation efforts with respect to sea turtles.

However, it claimed that the US ban on imports of wild harvested shrimps from countries, without certified conservation measures for sea turtles, was extra-territorial, arbitrary and discriminatory.

 

India said that along with three other complainants (Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand), it held consultations with the US on this matter in November, 1996, without success. It, therefore, now requested the DSB to set up a panel.

The US, however, said that it was not yet ready to agree to the request.

Meanwhile, the Indian government had on its part, however, intended to issue notifications making it necessary to use Turtle Extrude Devices (TEDs).

The commerce ministry has been trying to issue a notification for the use of TEDs which has been stuck for a while, partly on account of differences on whether it is necessary and partly on account of difficulties in determining whose purview this comes under.

Agriculture ministry sources, however, were of the view that the matter does not require issue of any such notification.

Commerce ministry sources explained that while it has indeed filed a dispute with the WTO on the grounds that there is no direct nexus between the use of TEDs and ban on shrimp imports, it is necessary for the country to start using TEDs.

This would unnecessarily hurt Indian marine exports and would result in substantial foreign exchange loss, it is argued.The dispute, it is argued, is valid since the failure to use TEDs could kill several other species of life forms other than shrimps and, therefore, the United States had no right to ban the imports of shrimps in particular.

Thailand and Malaysia first moved the WTO dispute settlement mechanism in the case by requesting formation of a panel. India subsequently joined the complaint. Later, certain other countries including Japan and Indonesia all hit by the US ban had also joined in the case.

According to a study by the Wildlife Institute of India, up to 10,000 turtles are killed along Orissas coast annually because of the failure to use TEDs.

There are no estimates available for the rest of the coastal states.