The European Commission said on Tuesday that it had launched cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi over "unlawful" import duties and against Ankara over the measures that force manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to localize production
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2019) The European Commission said on Tuesday that it had launched cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against New Delhi over "unlawful" import duties and against Ankara over the measures that force manufacturers of pharmaceuticals to localize production.
"Today, the EU has brought two disputes in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against India and Turkey, respectively targeting unlawful import duties on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and unlawful measures on pharmaceuticals," the commission's statement read.
The European Commission estimated that the measures of the said countries affect exports worth over 1 billion Euros a year ($1.1 billion), according to the statement.
"In the case against India, the EU is challenging the introduction of import duties on a wide range of ICT products, for instance mobile phones and components, base stations, integrated circuits and optical instruments. Despite its earlier legally binding commitment in the WTO not to charge any duties on these products, India has been applying duties ranging from 7.5 percent to 20 percent. These import duties are therefore in clear breach by India of WTO rules. The levies affect EU exports worth ��600 million per year," the commission noted.
The case against Ankara concerns calls on pharmaceutical producers to move production to Turkey, "if they want their medicines to be eligible for reimbursement for consumers under the Turkish health system," what violates Turkey's WTO commitments to treat foreign companies the same way as domestic ones and protect intellectual property of foreign enterprises,
"In addition, Turkey applies a number of technology transfer requirements in cases where companies move production to Turkey ... The estimated value of pharmaceutical exports likely to be affected by these measures reaches ��460 million and, if further implemented, could potentially affect all EU exports to Turkey worth more than ��2.5 billion," the statement read.
If 60-day long consultations with Ankara and New Delhi fail to settle the disputes, Brussels can request the WTO to set up a panel for each case, according to the European Commission.
