US is disappointed
that the WTO has rejected its complaint that Indian
import duties unfairly discriminate against products
such as wine and spirits and maintains its case that
Indian tariffs are discriminatory. It is backed by
the Wine Institute, the main US wine industry advocate.
DelWine
had already reported last week that the US had lost
its case against India.
'We are disappointed with the news,
but we do not want to make any comment until we see
the US Trade Representative or WTO reports,' Wine
Institute communications manager Gladys Horiuchi told
decanter.com.
India is considered an important
emerging market for wine. The Wine Institute obtained
a US$50,000 grant from the US government in October
2007 to study the market. But high tariffs 'have suppressed
sales there to date,' according to a Wine Institute
press release last year.
'We do really very little business
there, but it certainly is a huge economy, and we
would love to expand the market share for Napa Valley
wines,' said Terry Hall, at the Napa Valley Vintners
Association.
After objections lodged with the
WTO by the US and the EU, the Indian government had
taken action last July to eliminate the ACD (Additional
Customs Duty) on imported wines, while increasing
basic duties from 100% to 150%, still within the WTO
limits.
The duties are however, charged on
assessable value which is the CIF value PLUS 1%. Also,
a 4% special duty is still added on, to be refunded
later. The procedure to get the refund is so complicated
that most importers do not bank on getting the refund.
In addition, the additional excise
duty of 200% was slapped on by Maharashtra.
And this could be the thorn in the
flesh with the US.
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