By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
The United States is taking action to protect opportunities for American grain farmers in China.
On Aug. 31, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute panel regarding Chinese trade policies for wheat, corn and short, medium and long-grain rice.
The challenge, which started under the Obama Administration, argues that China administers tariff rate quotas (TRQs) inconsistent with its WTO commitment.
“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. The United States will aggressively pursue this challenge on behalf of American rice, wheat and corn farmers,” then-USTR Michael Froman said.
The U.S.’ challenge claims China did not administer its TRQs on a transparent, predictable or fair basis and did not use clearly specified administrative procedures and requirements.
At the Aug. 31 WTO meeting, China said it regretted the U.S.’ request for a panel and could not accept the request.
China pointed to recent U.S.-China discussions and said it did not believe the panel was the best way to resolve the issue.
Chinese officials then said they’re serious about administering its TRQ mechanism in line with WTO commitments.
As a result, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body put off the call for a panel.
The U.S. can again make the request to the WTO body. At that point, it can only be blocked if all WTO members agree to do so.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated China’s TRQs for corn, rice and wheat were worth more than $7 billion in 2015.
If the TRQs were fully used, USDA estimated China could have imported as much as $3.5 billion worth of additional crops in 2015.
China joined the WTO in December of 2001 and agreed to implement numerous commitments over time as part of their entrance into the organization.
Since 2001, the U.S. has brought more than 20 challenges against China.