"The situation had been simply intolerable, " US Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated.
Noting that every member of the WTO is required to come clean on their subsidy programmes regularly, Kirk said China has not notified its subsidy programs in over five years.
"India only recently filed its first notification in almost ten years and even then, notified only three of the many subsidy programmes we all know to exist, " he said.
"Because China and India have didn't meet their respective obligations, we had to act -- as we have entitlement to under the WTO rules -- and provide the voluminous information we now have developed regarding subsidy programmes in these two countries, inch he said.
Kirk announced that the US has submitted information towards the WTO identifying nearly 200 subsidy programmes that China has didn't notify as per WTO rules.
Information was also posted on 50 subsidy programmes in India not previously informed, he said.
Through these actions at the WTO, america is seeking the prompt provision of detailed information and data from China and India concerning the operation of these subsidy programmes, the USTR said.
Below WTO rules, every member is obligated to submit information about all of its subsidy programmes regularly.
This information is required so that members may measure the nature and extent of the subsidy programmes of other people.
The notification obligation is particularly significant for members such as China, where inadequate transparency in so many areas places a significant burden on other WTO members seeking to better realize China's trade policy measures, the USTR said.
China has submitted just one subsidy notification since becoming a WTO Member in Dec, 2001. That notification was noticeably incomplete, it said.
Within the last 10 years, India has submitted only one notification, that was also noticeably incomplete.
Previously, over the course of numerous meetings from the WTO Subsidies Committee, the United States has requested that China and India make full notifications of all their subsidy programmes, it said.
Kirk said the lack of transparency severely constrains the ability of WTO members to ensure each government is playing by the rules.
"The Usa would have preferred to avoid today's filings, but we now have done so to hold China and India accountable and also to enforce the rules that all WTO members must adhere to, " the US Trade Representative said.
"It is activity for China and India to be transparent about their subsidy programmes which includes meeting their notification obligations like other WTO People.
"China and India are among the largest exporters in the WTO which is simply not acceptable that they continue to evade their own transparency commitments, " Kirk said.
Source : Rediff