India rejects US solar claim at WTO

•  India has rejected the claim of US on its solar power policies at the World Trade Organization.
• According to India it had changed its rules to conform with the ruling and US claim for punitive trade sanctions was groundless.

Background:

• Renewable energy has become an area of severe trade friction as major economies compete to dominate a sector that is expected to thrive as reliance on coal and oil dwindles.
• India unveiled its national solar programme in 2011, seeking to ease chronic energy shortages in Asia's third-largest economy without creating pollution.
• But the United States complained to the WTO in 2013, saying US solar exports to India had fallen by 90 percent. The WTO judges agreed that India had broken the trade rules by requiring solar power developers to use Indian-made cells and modules.
• In a separate move that could protect its solar industry from global competitors, not only US rivals, India told the that it was considering the case for imposing temporary emergency tariffs on solar cells, modules and panels, after a petition from the domestic industry.
• Safeguard tariffs are permitted by the WTO if there is evidence of serious harm, or threat of serious harm, to a country's production from a sudden, unforeseen surge in imports.

About the National Solar Mission:

• The National Solar Mission was launched on the 11th January 2010.
• The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022 is aimed at reducing the cost of solar power generation in the country through (i) long term policy; (ii) large scale deployment goals; (iii) aggressive R&D; and (iv) domestic production of critical raw materials, components and products, as a result to achieve grid tariff parity by 2022.
• Mission will create an enabling policy framework to achieve this objective and make India a global leader in solar energy.
• Further, Government has revised the target of Grid Connected Solar Power Projects from 20,000 MW by the year 2021-22 to 100,000 MW by the year 2021-22 under the National Solar Mission and it was approved by Cabinet on 17th June 2015.

By: Vishal