Trade and sustainable development: a case study of India-us solar trade dispute

It has been believed by economists that trade augurs well for income growth, which in turn, supports sustainable development. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has prompted nations to create “mandatory renewable energy targets”, by taking into account the goal of sustainable development. One of the prominent sources of renewable energy is solar energy. In view of the push towards cleaner and greener alternatives of energy, renewable energy has emerged as a significant space of trade animosity. Objectives are to establish the link between trade and sustainable development and to examine the impact of solar trade dispute on the overall bilateral trade between India and United States of America (US). Methodology includes elucidating the timeline of India-US solar power dispute. Further, qualitative (case study) as well as quantitative analyses are done using secondary data. This is to find out if there has been any impact of this dispute on the total trade between the said countries, on a pre- and post-dispute basis (from 2008-2012 and 2013-2017, with the year 2013 as the mid-point, as it is co-terminus with the initiation of the dispute). The bone of contention was the accusation made by US that India was making use of locally-procured Photo-Voltaic (PV) cells under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) for the installation of solar panels. US stated that India’s Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) includes discrimination against solar equipment produced abroad. Furthermore, US contended that subsidies were being given to solar power producers who employed domestically produced equipment. Expected result is to glean trade balance and ties between India and USA.