AUSTRALIA has secured an emphatic win against India's price-distorting sugar subsidies.
A World Trade Organisation panel ruled India had export subsidies in place which were prohibited under global trading rules and recommended their removal.
The panel also found that India's levels of sugarcane price supports had consistently exceeded permitted levels.
Sugar industry organisations the Australian Sugar Milling Council and Canegrowers welcomed the panel's findings and recommendations.
"India's subsidies and the export of its surplus sugar have been calculated by Green Pool to have cost Australian cane growers and sugar millers $1 billion in foregone revenue between 2017-18 and 2020-21," ASMC Director of Policy, Economics and Trade, David Rynne said.
ASMC and Canegrowers have called on the Indian Government to comply with the WTO findings.
Canegrowers chairman Paul Schembri said the WTO case has unequivocally found in favour of Australia, Brazil and Guatemala.
"I am proud that Canegrowers and ASMC, on behalf of all growers and millers in the Australian industry, stood up for a rules-based world trading regime and we have been vindicated," Mr Schembri said.
"We now call on India, the government and the industry, to work together to comply with the WTO's rulings and bring its activities back into line with international trade rules," Mr Rynne said.
In a joint media Trade Minister Dan Tehan and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said Australia, along with Brazil and Guatemala, initiated the dispute resolution process in 2019.
"Australia's use of the WTO in this matter is consistent with its previous use of the WTO and aligns with our support for the rules-based trading system," the statement reads.
"Australia is committed to working with WTO members to progress agricultural reform which opens markets and reduces global distortions.
"The government will continue to defend the interests of Australian producers by using the established system in the WTO to resolve our differences."
ASMC and Canegrowers thanked the Australian Government, and in particular Trade Minister Dan Tehan, for its commitment to a fair and level trading environment for the sugar industry.
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