The Obama Administration has launched a new trade enforcement action against the People’s Republic of China over tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for rice, wheat, and corn. The complaint was filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
“China’s TRQ policies breach their WTO commitments and limit opportunities for U.S. farmers to export competitively priced, high-quality grains to customers in China,” said United States Trade Representative Michael Froman. “The United States will aggressively pursue this challenge on behalf of American rice, wheat, and corn farmers.” USDA estimates that China’s TRQs for these commodities were worth over $7 billion in 2015.
Separately, USTR has requested that the WTO establish a dispute settlement panel to examine China’s level of domestic support for Chinese producers of rice, wheat, and corn under a WTO challenge USTRA launched in September.