A WTO panel ruled on first instance last Thursday on the US dispute ( DS456 ) against India concerning the use of domestic content requirements in the context of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) energy scheme. In the initial phases of the JNNSM, solar power developers were required to use certain types of solar cells and modules manufactured in India for power generation projects in order to ultimately sell that electricity to government agencies under a long-term agreement at a guaranteed rate. The US complained that these domestic content requirements violate India’s national treatment obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs Agreement). A panel was established in May 2014 to hear the case. (See Bridges Weekly, 28 May 2014 ) Washington made clear in its submissions as well as in public statements that it does not take issue with either India’s environmental or developmental goals, nor with New Delhi’s attempts to improve its domestic capacities in solar energy. “The United States strongly supports the rapid deployment of solar energy around the world – including in India,” said US Trade Representative Michael Froman in response to the...