WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, USA Rice joined 33 other agricultural trade associations and companies in sending a
letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Tai and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, requesting that the U.S. lead in reforming and revitalizing the World Trade Organization (WTO) and particularly addressing the shortfalls around agriculture.
The WTO is scheduled to hold its biennial meeting starting in late November of this year after being postponed in 2020. As part of their 12th Ministerial Conference, WTO members will hold negotiations around agriculture, the environment, services, and other sectors within its purview. Proposals are being discussed now by the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture that will lead into the more formal talks later this year.
The groups said: “The world is looking to the Biden Administration to provide leadership to reform the WTO, a difficult but important task that could serve as a lasting achievement and benefit American workers, including farmers and ranchers, for many years to come.”
It continued: “…in recent years the flaws in the system have become apparent. Reform is badly needed, including changes that lead to a market-opening agenda for agriculture and a better functioning institution.”
An addendum to the letter outlines seven key principles that should be considered as part of WTO reform discussions, going into further detail regarding what should be addressed as part of the Ministerial Conference later this year and setting realistic outcomes.
One such outcome would be improved transparency and notifications by WTO members. This centers around the various types of domestic support provided by governments to their agricultural sector, including payments directly to producers, subsidized inputs for producers, subsidized crop insurance, and export subsidies.
Less than half of WTO members have submitted notifications on their subsidies since 2016, and many of those are incomplete, manipulate data, or incorrectly categorize their policies. And according to Peter Bachmann, USA Rice’s vice president of international trade, only half of the major rice exporters around the world are actually reporting.
“Right now, we just have to assume they’re living up to their commitments without seeing what they are actually providing to their producers,” Bachmann said. “We have no idea if they are in compliance with their WTO commitments.”
The U.S. rice industry has long battled competitors around the world who over-subsidize their rice, which globally distorts trade and puts the U.S. at a disadvantage for playing by the rules. Increased transparency at the WTO would help hold members accountable and assess whether they are in compliance with their WTO commitments on subsidies, market access, and other policies.
WTO reform is a complex and slow process, but U.S. agriculture groups, in cooperation with the U.S. government, can chart a path forward for the negotiations to restore the WTO as a viable arbiter for trade disputes and help level the playing field for rice exports worldwide.