Support Missouri Senators’ Call for Farm Bill Extension until Ratification of WTO Pact

By Paul T. Combs, Chairman, USA Rice Producers’ Group

ARLINGTON, VA, May 4, 2006 — American farmers and ranchers, particularly those in Missouri, are fortunate to have two senators who recognize the importance of maintaining a strong negotiating position for agriculture in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade negotiations to ensure a successful outcome for U.S. interests.

Our senators understand the integral role the current farm bill — the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 — plays in keeping the agricultural sector strong and competitive. They understand the importance of achieving meaningful and measurable market access improvements for U.S. farm products, including rice, that will make up for any commitments to reduce trade-distorting domestic support for U.S. farmers that would shape the final outcome of a new farm bill.

It would send absolutely the wrong signal at the wrong time in the midst of these negotiations for the U.S. Congress and the administration to write a new farm bill that would reduce the level of support for production agriculture and change the structure of farm payments.

Sens. Jim Talent (R-MO) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) on May 2 introduced a bill, S. 2696, that would extend the current farm act until there is a WTO agreement that is ratified by Congress. Only after that ratification should Congress undertake the task of writing a new farm bill to guide future agricultural policy. A WTO agreement would allow us to know what commitments on market access, domestic support, and export competition our global competitors have agreed to.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) is also a key co-sponsor of that bill. Other cosponsors with Sens. Talent and Lincoln include Sens. Norm Coleman (R-MN), Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and David Vitter (R-LA).

Sen. Talent has recognized that U.S. producers like the current farm bill. It is well balanced, equitable, and provides assistance to all segments of U.S. agriculture. For this reason and the fact that the WTO negotiations continue to slowly drag on, Sens. Talent and Lincoln have taken this step to send a strong signal to our negotiating partners in the WTO that the United States will not unilaterally disarm when it comes to our agriculture sector.

The WTO negotiators missed their deadline for an agreement in December in Hong Kong. They have just missed the April 30 deadline by which “modalities” — the formulas for making reductions in domestic support programs, tariffs, and export subsidies — were to have been agreed to. There has been no report of any substantial progress in the negotiations, but a new negotiating deadline has been set for the end of July.

It makes perfect sense in this scenario to extend the current farm bill until the WTO Doha Round of negotiations is successfully completed. It is the right policy at the right time for U.S. agriculture, and the U.S. rice industry sincerely thanks Sens. Talent and Bond for their leadership on this effort. It is a policy we should vocally support.

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Contact: David Coia, (703) 236-1444, dcoia@usarice.com

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase profitability for all industry segments.