Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde told the Lok Sabha the government had taken serious note of the increasing propensity towards erecting new trade barriers by the developed countries.

India's strategy of encouraging other countries to remove trade barriers consists among other things of raising the issue in the appropriate WTO committees, he said in a written answer.

No agreement has been reached between India and the United States to settle phasing out of quantitative restrictions, he said. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in a press note, pointed out that consequent upon the first written submission made by the US on March 31, 1998 to the dispute settlement panel of the WTO in connection with India's dispute on QRs on imports maintained for balance of payments purposes, the government made its counter submission to thepanel on May 1 last.

Broadly, India has submitted to the panel that the time-schedule for removal of its import restrictions over six years, in three consecutive phases of 3 years, 2 years and one year starting April 1, 1997 is consistent with Article 18-2 of the GATT 1994; import restrictions satisfy the requirements of Article 18-B of the GATT; the US, and not India, must assert and demonstrate that India's time schedules are inconsistent with India's obligations under Article 18-2 of GATT; the committee on balance of payments restrictions and the general council of the WTO have the exclusive authority, and not a dispute settlement panel, to determine whether a time-schedule for the removal of import restrictions is consistent with Article 18-2 of the GATT; and the views of the IMF on the issues raised in the dispute are not dispositive.

According, India has requested the panel to reject the US' complaint. The official press note adds that since the panel proceeding has not yet concluded, no plan inthis regard to remove import restrictions arises from the dispute with the US.