Indian export subsidies improper: WTO

• The World Trade Organization found Thursday that India had improperly subsidized exports.
• US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer hailed the WTO's findings as a "resounding victory for the United States."
• US President Donald Trump this year has blasted India, accusing the giant Asian economy.

WASHINGTON: The World Trade Organization found Thursday that India had improperly subsidized exports to the tune of billions of dollars, upholding complaints lodged by the United States.

A WTO arbitral panel gave New Delhi three to six months to remove the prohibited subsidies, which were the target of a WTO complaint lodged last year by Washington.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer hailed the WTO's findings as a "resounding victory for the United States."

The USTR office said thousands of Indian companies received subsidies totaling more than $7 billion a year, causing covered exports to skyrocket in recent decades.

On trade, US President Donald Trump this year has blasted India, accusing the giant Asian economy of unfair trade.

Earlier this year, he stripped India of benefits which allowed some duty-free exports to the United States, claiming that India had refused to grant wider access to American-made goods.

In June, India slapped duties on dozens of US products, including hundreds of millions of dollars in almonds from California as well as other US fruits and nuts.