EU asks India to Rethink 'Intense' Import Restrictions.

NEW DELHI: The European Union has said that restrictions on imports imposed by India in the aftermath of the global economic crisis have been a bit intense'' and need to be looked into.

In 2009 India initiated 42 trade restriction actions, or measures to check imports to protect the domestic industry, the highest amongst all countries, against 21 such measures by the EU.

"We have to say this is a bit intense . We will discuss it with our Indian colleagues,' said Stefaan Depypere, director, European trade defence services at a seminar on anti-dumping , anti-subsidy and safeguards practices of the European Union organised by Ficci on Thursday.

As per data compiled by the EU, the US initiated 34 actions, followed by Argentina (27), the EU (21) and China (20).
Trade defence instruments include anti-dumping , countervailing and safeguard actions.

In all three cases, import duties for particular products are increased temporarily by governments when they are sold at prices lower than those prevailing in the home markets of exporting countries , when they are subsidised by exporting country or when there is a surge in its imports.

Speaking to ET, a commerce department official said that the EU was generally making a larger point by pointing at trade defence measure figures for 2009 and had no intention of taking it up at the official level.
“One cannot complain just about the high numbers of initiations . Complaints can be made only when multilateral rules are violated,” the official said.

Mr Depypere said that trade defence instruments should be more transparent to ensure that rights of defence of interested parties are protected, there are proper and timely disclosures and affected parties are given opportunities to comment. Moreover , there has to be impartial review during and after the investigation process.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com