USA Rice and Other Major Ag Groups Demand Stronger Trade Stance in Letter to President Bush

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2006 — In a strongly worded letter to President Bush late yesterday, the USA Rice Federation and 11 other large agricultural organizations expressed their extreme concern about the current state of Doha Round World Trade Organization negotiations, and emphasized that unilateral concessions by the United States would be inappropriate.

“American agriculture will not support deeper cuts in domestic support than those already proposed by the administration,” the letter says. “Reductions in, and limitations on, domestic support for U.S. agriculture are only acceptable if the negotiations yield an important net gain for American farmers and ranchers through commitments on market access and other trade-distorting policies by our trading partners.”

“The U.S. rice industry will not support trade concessions that amount to a unilateral disarmament of our industry in the face of protectionism supported and adhered to by other countries,” said USA Rice Producers’ Group Chairman Paul T. Combs.

“While an agreement short of the U.S. market access proposal is not our objective, any such outcome must result in commitments on domestic support commensurate with this diminished market access result,” the letter says.

“Market access not protectionism in the guise of sensitivities is the key to opening markets globally, and to world economic prosperity,” said Bob Cummings, USA Rice Federation VP for international policy. “Nearly 50 percent of U.S. rice production is destined for export markets, so market access is critical to our industry.”

“The value of any tariff cut proposals will be greatly eroded by extensive exceptions for sensitive and special products,” says the letter to the president. “The need to achieve significant increases in market access in developing, including newly acceded, country markets is especially important because these countries, which account for 81 percent of the world’s population, represent the markets of the future.”

Other signatories to the letter include the: American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, American Sugar Alliance, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Milk Producers Federation, USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, US Canola Association, and the Wheat Export Trade Education Committee.

Copies of the letter were also sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Deputy U.S. Trader Representative Susan Schwab, Ambassador Richard Crowder, and the Senate and House agriculture committees.

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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.

Contacts:

Bob Cummings, (703) 236-1473, rcummings@usarice.com

David Coia, (703) 236-2300, dcoia@usarice.com