December 9, 2003	Tuesday	Shawwal 14, 1424

BRUSSELS, Dec 8: The European Commission said on Monday it would dispute Indian trade restrictions at the World Trade Organization, saying India’s anti-dumping measures have hit 50 million euros of EU exports and may break WTO rules.

“EU exporters have lost exports of more than 50 million euros due to these measures, but even more important is the fact India is misusing anti-dumping instruments to prevent foreign firms from making a way into the Indian market,” it said.

Under WTO rules, anti-dumping measures can be used by a country when it feels exporters are selling goods in its market below the cost of production and when these exports are causing damage to its own producers.

The Commission, which negotiates trade for the 15-nation EU, said in a statement it had started the first stage in dispute procedures at the WTO. It said India had not fully justified the anti-dumping measures, of which it was now the world’s largest user.

The EU has asked for consultations at the WTO, under which the two sides try to resolve the dispute by talks. If this fails, a dispute panel is set up and WTO judges decide the case.

The dispute is the latest in a series of trade spats between the EU and India.

They have a long-running fight over EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on Indian exports of bedlinen.

The WTO also recently found that an EU scheme giving trade preferences to countries fighting drugs was illegal under international trade rules. The complaint against the EU system was brought by India after Pakistan benefited from it.—Reuters