India

India has requested consultations with the United States at the World Trade Organization over compliance in a dispute in which the U.S. was broadly faulted for using cross-cumulation as the methodology to determine injury from imports of hot-rolled steel from India.

India halted a May 10 meeting of the World Trade Organization's General Council by refusing to agree to the proposed agenda because it included an item on “trade and investment facilitation,” which India claims is outside of the scope of the WTO, according to Geneva sources.

The Indian government is tracking the Trump administration’s evolving trade policy, particularly actions that could affect services exports and the distribution of H-1B visas, but the Indian business community is bullish on the economic relationship between the two countries remaining fruitful.

Upon the second request by India, a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel was established at a March 21 Dispute Settlement Body meeting to examine a complaint that U.S. state-level incentives for renewable energy programs contain domestic content requirements in violation of WTO rules.

The United States this week sharply criticized India for requesting a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel over state renewable energy programs and blocked formation of the panel, while characterizing India's move as “purely political.”

The report identifies countries the U.S. views as insufficient protectors of intellectual property rights.

The tenth U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum concluded on Oct. 20 without a major breakthrough, leaving some parts of the U.S. industry asking yet again for commercial bilateral dialogues between the two countries to produce more tangible outcomes.