WTO pen drive case: India, Taiwan complete consultation process

NEW DELHI: The bilateral consultation process between India and Taiwan on the issue of Chinese Taipei dragging India to WTO for imposing anti-dumping duty on its exports of pen drives has been completed.

"In the consultation (completed last month), India has contested the claims of Taiwan. They have gone back to their industries.

"Now, either they can again request for another consultation with India if they come back with more queries or they can approach the WTO's dispute settlement panel," an official said.

Approaching the WTO's panel may stretch the process of resolution of the issue and involve litigation in Geneva.

On September 24, Taiwan had filed a case in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against India for imposing anti-dumping duty on imports of USB flash drives or pen drives as known in common parlance.

After the recommendation of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD), in May, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had imposed the anti-dumping duty on imports of USB flash drives or pen drives from China and Taiwan.

The DGAD in its probe had concluded that the product was exported from Chinese Taipei into the Indian market at prices less than their normal values.

India had imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of 'USB Flash Drives' from China and Chinese Taipei at USD 3.06 per piece and USD 3.12 apiece, respectively, for five years.

The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation.

After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.

In market parlance, USB Flash Drives are also known by various other names such as pen drive, keychain drives, key drives, USB sticks, flash sticks, jump sticks, USB keys or memory keys.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to check if domestic industry has been hurt because of a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.