World Trade Organization Rules Against India’s Restrictions on U.S. Poultry
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today applauded the World Trade Organization (WTO) decision affirming that India’s import restrictions on U.S. poultry products are discriminatory and not substantiated in science. India began blocking America’s poultry exports in 2007, citing unsubstantiated concerns over low pathogenic avian influenza. These restrictions remain in place despite a decade without a single outbreak in the United States.
“This WTO decision is an important victory for the U.S. livestock industry and reflects the importance of enforcing our trade rules,” said Stabenow. “Our trading partners need to be making decisions based on sound science, not illegal and improper efforts to tilt the playing field. When everyone is playing by the rules, America’s farmers compete – and they win. I commend the U.S. Trade Representative for pursuing this case and urge our trade negotiators to bring it to a successful conclusion.”