WASHINGTON, DC – Last Friday, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published their 2022 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report, an annual publication detailing foreign trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters and spanning more than 500 pages. The report provides a comprehensive review of significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports of goods (including agriculture) and services, U.S. foreign direct investment, and U.S. electronic commerce in key export markets for the United States.
In October, USA Rice submitted comments to USTR that outline U.S. rice-specific barriers in markets throughout the globe in preparation for the 2022 NTE. The USTR and sister agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State, and Treasury all review industry submissions and contribute to the comprehensive NTE report.
“While there is no real scenario where USA Rice is granted our entire wish list at once, we estimate that if all of our 2022 outlined trade barriers across all 15 markets were resolved, in time, it could result in more than $850 million in additional export sales of U.S. rice,” said Sarah Moran, USA Rice vice president for international.
Several of USA Rice’s NTE submissions were highlighted in the comprehensive USTR report, including the political ban in Turkey under the guise of phytosanitary issues, increased and burdensome phytosanitary inspections throughout Central America and the Dominican Republic, and frustrating price ceilings and markups in Taiwan and Japan. All in all, USTR references rice 95 times throughout the report.
USA Rice makes adjustments to the annual submission each year as export situations continuously change. The NTE is instrumental in USTR’s negotiations to eliminate barriers when they engage in bilateral discussions with other countries.
USA Rice also included language in the fall submission calling out India and China’s longstanding trade distorting domestic support programs, encouraging World Trade Organization action. While the world’s commodity prices have hit record highs in 2021 and 2022, rice prices remain stable, amid skyrocketing input costs, because of India’s influence over the world rice market.
“India’s insulation of their producers against price swings while the U.S. plays by the rules is all the more reason for swift action at the WTO,” added Moran.
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here to access the 517-page report.