Illegal Subsidies By Other Countries Can Hurt Indian Business: Centre The subsidies whether they are prohibited (illegal) or actionable are determined by three major steps within the subsidies and countervailing measures agreement

The Central government on Monday said that illegal subsidies by trade partners and other countries hurt Indian trade and business, and that corrective actions are taken in the form of invoking dispute settlement mechanisms, according to a PTI report.

The report further added that the Department of Commerce on February 9, 2023 had stated that illegal subsidies by trade partners and other countries hurt Indian trade and business, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha.

"At a multilateral forum, the disciplines regulating the provision of subsidies and the use of countervailing measures to offset injury caused by subsidized imports are addressed in the agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures," he reportedly said in a written reply.

According to his words, "The subsidies whether they are prohibited (illegal) or actionable are determined by three major steps within the subsidies and countervailing measures agreement. Based on them, corrective actions are taken in the form of invoking dispute settlement mechanism"

According to the International Trade Administration official website, a subsidy granted by a WTO member government is prohibited by the Subsidies Agreement if it is contingent, in law or in fact, on export performance, or on the use of domestic over imported goods. These prohibited subsidies are commonly referred to as export subsidies and import substitution subsidies, respectively. They are deemed to be specific and are viewed as particularly harmful under the Subsidies Agreement.