India to contest in WTO 'discriminatory' US funding of 9/11 victims

NEW DELHI: India may have sympathies with the victims of 9/11, 2001 terror attack in the US, but New Delhi plans to contest in WTO the way American administration has gone about raising resources for helping the victims.

To help the 9/11 victims, the US had levied two per cent duty on goods and services imported from nations, which are outside the purview of WTO's Agreement on Government Procurement. India is not a part of this agreement.

The Commerce Ministry is considering the proposal to take the issue to Geneva-based World Trade Organisation.

"Raising resource this way by the US is against the national treatment provision in the WTO agreements," a Commerce Ministry official said. The provision under the US James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act also raises costs for the Indian companies in the service sector.

"We have taken a view that we will like to seek consultation with the US in WTO. The work is under process," the official said.

In the recent past, the US-India trade relations have faced difficulties. Their bilateral disputes have been taken to the WTO. While ban on poultry products by India has been contested by the US, the former has challenged the latter on anti-dumping duties on import of Indian steel and pipes.

The James Zadroga Act was to create a $ 4.3 billion fund to provide free medical treatment to those suffering from illnesses contracted while clearing the debris at the Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack.