WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chair of the bipartisan Senate Chicken Caucus, praised the World Trade Organization’s ruling Tuesday that India had illegally blocked imports of U.S. poultry based on unfounded claims about avian influenza. Experts estimate that India’s restrictions are preventing the export of approximately $300 million in U.S. chicken annually.
“Delaware has long been a global leader in the production of poultry products that adhere to the most rigorous and comprehensive of safety measures,” Senator Coons said. “India’s unsubstantiated claims about the risk of avian influenza in American poultry have prevented Delaware chicken-growers from exporting their high-quality products to an important and growing market. Exports play a critical role in the health of America’s poultry industry, making it important that the United States fight the unfair protectionist policies of some of the biggest markets in the world. While today’s WTO ruling doesn’t mean automatic access to the Indian market, it is an important step forward in that fight. Delaware's poultry community is one of the largest employers in the state, providing jobs for thousands of Delawareans and generating billions of dollars for our economy. My seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee affords me a unique opportunity to fight for Delaware’s poultry growers abroad, and I am committed to using that opportunity to help open new markets and increase exports. I will work with the U.S. Trade Representative and my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that this ruling is fully implemented and that these barriers to fair trade are torn down.”
Delaware’s poultry industry supports more than 13,000 jobs and contributes more than $3.2 billion to the state’s economy.
“India’s ban was thinly veiled protectionism,” said USA Poultry & Egg Export Council President James Sumner and National Chicken Council President Michael Brown. “This ruling should send a signal to India and other countries that have placed similar bans on U.S. poultry that they are inconsistent with WTO rules and with guidelines established by the World Organization for Animal Health.
In May 2012, Senator Coons hosted Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao in Delaware to meet with Delaware poultry companies, as well as state and federal agriculture officials, and visit the University of Delaware College of Agriculture’s Allen Lab for poultry science research. The trip was designed to show the high quality and integrity of Delaware’s poultry businesses and research institutions.
In 2011, Senator Coons — with Senator Tom Carper and a bipartisan group of 17 of their colleagues — urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative to resolve India’s longstanding, non-scientifically based policies against U.S. poultry during a meeting with India’s senior government leaders. More on that letter is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1Chq4XE