India to file 16 cases against US over WTO solar norm breaches - report

After appealing the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) ruling on the country’s local content requirements for solar power equipment, India now plans to file 16 separate cases against the US, according to a minister.

The Asian nation claims that certain sub-federal renewable energy programmes in the US are inconsistent with WTO norms, commerce and industry minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said as cited by the The Financial Express. According to a written reply by Sitharaman in Parliament, the US has violated WTO norms related to the obligation under the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and/or the Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) Agreement.

Earlier this year, the WTO ruled that India discriminated against US solar cells and modules because of a requirement for solar project developers to use locally-made equipment. This was the main reason for India to start pointing out violations of some WTO provisions in the US green energy sector, according to the report.

India has already appealed on the findings and recommendations of the dispute settlement panel from February, Sitharaman was quoted as saying in a separate reply.

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