WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the
Home Market Restoration Act of 2026, designed to help restore domestic market opportunities and to protect Louisiana crawfish, shrimp, rice, catfish, and other American producers from unfair foreign imports.
“Louisiana producers can compete with anyone if trade is fair,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Whether it is crawfish, shrimp, rice, or catfish, America cannot let foreign competitors flood our markets and push our producers out of business.”
Senator Cassidy’s bill establishes product-specific tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on a range of agricultural and seafood products, including rice, and applies higher tariff rates on imports exceeding the quotas. The legislation intends to curb import surges fueled by unfair trade practices and level the playing field for American producers.
"At a time when U.S. rice farmers are reeling from consecutive years of high input costs and low global prices, primarily driven by global competitors that illegally over-subsidize, this legislation is a beacon of hope for our industry,” said Ben Noble, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Riceland Foods and USA Rice Board member. “Rice imports have increased drastically over the last 10 years, and now one third of the rice consumed is produced outside of the United States, often with government intervention to artificially support its farmers. Meanwhile, our industry is facing increased farm bankruptcies, drying and milling closures, and the planted acreage is the lowest seen in 40 years as a result of systemic failures to address unfair trading practices.”
Noble continued, “Without the farmers and industry operating in our small towns, the rural communities built up for decades around rice farming will cease to exist. U.S. rice is the most sustainably produced and we can compete on an even playing field, but unfortunately, that is not the reality of the global rice market. The Home Market Restoration Act recognizes the unfair advantage these imports have and seeks to preserve and rebuild market opportunities for U.S. grown rice right here in our own back yard.”
USA Rice has long advocated for stronger enforcement of the global trade rules to address unfair trade practices. Absent global enforcement, USA Rice continues to support U.S. trade laws to preserve and rebuild the domestic rice market.