India-US Solar Trade Dispute

• India lost a trade case the US had filed at WTO for making it mandatory for developers participating in domestic solar projects to use solar cells and modules made in India
• India has been planning to slap 16 cases against the US at the WTO ever since
• Now reports say the country is trying to arrive at a compromise outside the court

India is seeking to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution with the US to the domestic content manufacturing requirement clause in solar. After losing the case the US filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in February 2016, regarding India making it mandatory for developers to source locally manufactured cells and modules for solar projects in the country, India seems to be trying to find out an out-of-court settlement.

The Economic Times quoted an anonymous source who said that when the US has its own subsidy programs at the sub-federal level, why is then India targeted for doing the same thing. The official was quoted as saying, "We want separate consultations with them outside the WTO." The US claims that its solar exports to India have come down to less than one-tenth since 2011, owing to India's domestic content requirement (DCR).

In April 2016, Indian Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Piyush Goyal had reportedly said that his country will file as many as 16 cases against the US at WTO (see Protecting Domestic PV Makers).