In Reprisal, India Probes U.S. Trade Barriers

NEW DELHI -- India has begun a tit-for-tat study on the barriers its exporters face in the United States, part of an effort to aggressively counter an American investigation into Indian trade hurdles.

The Indian move came in response to the U.S. International Trade Commission's recent inquiries into the effects of Indian farm trade barriers on U.S. exports, initiated by the Senate Finance Committee in January. In February, India's Commerce Ministry asked exporters to begin reporting instances of hidden American barriers.

"We are collating information from various industries to prepare a list of American non-tariff barriers to Indian exports. There are many subtle, sophisticated ways in which America stalls our exports," Gopal Pillai, India's commerce secretary, said in a recent interview. "For too long, the developed countries lectured us on what we are doing wrong on trade. But this is a game that India can play, too."

Pillai said the ministry's report should be ready by August, ahead of the U.S. report, which is expected in November.

Meanwhile, two teams of U.S. agriculture and trade officials are scheduled to visit India this month to discuss barriers to farm exports.

Farm trade is a politically sensitive issue in India. Two-thirds of Indians work in agriculture, according to the government, but most barely eke out a living. Indian food policy activists and farmers' unions have called on wealthy nations such as the United States to repeal their farm subsidies and have agitated against the influx of food imports that they say harms millions of poor local farmers.

In Geneva last July, World Trade Organization talks on free trade broke down when the United States accused India and China of inflexibility on the issue of opening up markets. Analysts say the ongoing U.S. and Indian efforts to list barriers is likely to intensify the face-off.

At an International Trade Commission hearing in Washington last month, the U.S. National Cotton Council testified that India's cotton subsidy program -- including an increase in price supports and a recent export incentive -- represents a major impediment to trade.

Many Indians view such testimonials with indignation.

"The Americans are very cleverly giving the impression to the whole world that India is a culprit in the global free trade. Everybody knows how America pampers its rich cotton farmers with subsidies," said Devinder Sharma, a trade policy activist at the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security in New Delhi. "India bends over backwards to accommodate the first world on trade issues. In fact, we are too easy. You can bring an elephant into India and nobody will even check. But the U.S. makes us dance for every export."

One story that many Indians cite concerns the mango, called the "king of fruits" here.

After 17 years of persistent lobbying by New Delhi, the United States reopened its doors to Indian mangoes in 2007. It had stopped imports because of concerns about seed weevils and fruit fly infestations but finally agreed to reverse the ban if the mangoes were subjected to radiation. But the move did little to lessen tensions.

"First they took a very long time to allow Indian mangoes. Then they insisted that the mangoes should be irradiated. We spent $2.5 million to set it up," Pillai said. "But they don't trust us. They send an American official to India to inspect the irradiation. And we have to pay the official's airfare and hotel bill, too. This adds to the price of Indian mangoes in the U.S."