U.S. Seeks WTO Dispute Settlement With India Over Solar Energy Program
The U.S. has requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations with the government of India about domestic content requirements in India's national solar program, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The U.S. said India's program appears to discriminate against U.S. solar equipment by requiring solar energy producers to use Indian-manufactured solar cells and modules and by offering subsidies to those developers for using domestic equipment instead of imports. The forced localization requirements of India's national solar program restrict India's market to U.S. imports, USTR said. Consultations are the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process, and parties are encouraged to agree to a solution at this stage.
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Under WTO rules, if the matter is not resolved through consultations within 60 days, the U.S. may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel. India's national solar policy, launched in 2010, required developers of solar photovoltaic projects employing crystalline silicon technology to use solar modules manufactured in India. Later, India expanded this domestic sourcing requirement to crystalline silicon solar cells, and has said it's considering expanding the scope of the domestic content requirements further to include solar thin film technologies, which currently make up most of U.S. solar exports to India. India also offers solar energy developers participating in the JNNSM a guarantee that the government will buy a certain amount of solar power at a highly subsidized tariff rate if they use domestically manufactured solar equipment instead of imports, the U.S. said.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) voiced approval for the USTR's efforts. "India isn’t playing by the rules, and USTR is right to go to the WTO to hold it accountable for its local content requirements," he said in a press release (here). "Unfortunately, India’s policies are part of a broader trend that is putting U.S. jobs at risk, inhibiting investment, and undermining our ability to sell American goods in other countries. Whenever such cases arise, America must defend our trading rights, and I look forward to working closely with USTR to address damaging forced localization barriers in India, China, Argentina, and elsewhere around the world."