US opposes India’s 2007 ban on its farm products, approaches WTO

07 Mar 2012 Evaluate

The United States has opposed India’s five-year-old ban on imports of US chicken meat and eggs at the World Trade Organisation and has requested consultations to resolve the issue.

India had banned the import of poultry products from the US in the year 2007 on the grounds of protecting the country from the spread of avian influenza, or 'bird flu”. But according to USA the ban has no scientific justification and is not in line with international standards as per which bans are not imposed on poultry imports from countries where low pathogenic avian influenza has been detected, which is the only type detected in the United States since 2004. Moreover US have accused India of disguising trade restrictions under the cloak of health safety.

As per US estimates, the Indian poultry market is expanding by 8 to 10% every year and if imports were allowed, could lead to annual US exports of $300m. Also India's broiler meat consumption has risen from 2.23 million metric tonne in 2007 to a projected 2.75 million this year. However India is forecast to produce only about 2.70 million metric tons, providing some opportunity for imports.

This is the fifth time that the US has brought a WTO (World Trade Organisation) case against India and the first under the Obama administration. The world's second-largest exporter of poultry products after Brazil, the United States is also battling with China over its steep anti-dumping duties on imported US frozen chicken meat.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×