US Trade Representative Michael Froman stated that the United States claimed a major victory in overthrowing India’s trade restriction on US poultry exports.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States claimed a major victory in overthrowing India’s trade restriction on US poultry exports, US Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement.

“The World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body has agreed with a previous panel report, handing the United States a major victory in a dispute challenging India’s ban on various US agricultural products,” the statement said on Thursday.

India banned US agricultural products such as poultry meat, eggs and live pigs to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza that has broken out in number of locations across the United States.

The WTO panel “overwhelmingly agreed with US claims that… India’s ban is not based on international standards or a risk assessment,” the statement said.

This victory will help address barriers to the Indian market for US farmers, according to the US Trade Representative.

“I welcome this win, which will help us eliminate unjustified trade barriers so US farmers can sell high quality US agricultural products to customers around the world,” Froman said.

The decision affirms the importance of basing agricultural trade requirements on sound science, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in the statement.

“This is a major win for US agriculture and …the US poultry industry,” Vilsack said.

The US poultry industry employs more than 350,000 workers and consists of nearly 50,000 farms. The industry estimates that US exports to India of poultry meat alone could exceed $300 million a year once India’s restrictions are removed, the statement said.