On February 15, 2019, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that the United States, together with Canada, has submitted a counter notification in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Agriculture (COA) on India’s market price support for five pulses: chickpeas, pigeon peas, black matpe, mung beans, and lentils.

Based on calculations by the U.S. and Canada, the counter notification argues that India has substantially underreported its market price support for chickpeas, pigeon peas, black matpes, mung beans, and lentils. When calculated according to WTO Agreement on Agriculture methodology, India’s market price support for each of these pulses far exceeded its allowable levels of trade-distorting domestic support. The United States expects a robust discussion on how India implements and notifies its policies at the next COA meeting, which is scheduled for February 26-27, 2019.