June 21, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 20,1424

WASHINGTON, June 20: The United States claimed victory on Friday in a World Trade Organization complaint brought by India in a textile dispute, a decision likely to keep India from increasing exports to the US market.

The WTO ruled the US rules for determining the country of origin of textiles did not violate WTO rules.

India had claimed the US rules discriminated against its exports, which consist mainly of unfinished cotton goods.

“This is an important victory for American trade laws and American textile trade,” said US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. “Today’s report reaffirms that the US rules are consistent with our WTO commitments, and it shows that countries do have flexibility under the WTO to develop accurate rules of origin.”

India had claimed that its exports of unfinished cotton fabrics that were finished or dyed in the United States should not be counted against its quota.

India claimed the US rules were unfair because the United States had adopted different rules for silk goods, in response to pressure from the European Union. The country of origin for silk fabrics depends on where they are dyed or finished, under US rules.—AFP