U.S. Wins WTO Ruling Against Chinese Grain Import Quotas
The United States won a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on Thursday against China's use of tariff-rate quotas for rice, wheat and corn, which it successfully argued limited market access for U.S. grain exports.
The case was filed by the U.S. in late 2016, and marked the second U.S. victory in as many months. It came amid U.S./China trade talks and on the heels of Washington clinching a WTO ruling on China's price support for grains in March.
A WTO dispute panel ruled on Thursday that under the terms of its 2001 WTO accession, China's administration of the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) as a whole violated its obligation to administer them on a "transparent, predictable and fair basis."
If China's TRQs had been fully used, the USDA estimates that $3.5 billion worth of corn, wheat and rice could have been imported in 2015 alone.
Either side can appeal the ruling within 60 days.
What It Means for the U.S. Farmer: We believe that the WTO ruling against China is another favorable win for the U.S. farmer. This ruling helps articulate how the U.S. grains producer has been unfairly discriminated against by the Chinese. While it’s uncertain what the ramifications will be, we believe that the WTO’s decision should provide the U.S. negotiators with more leverage in the ongoing U.S./Chinese trade talks.
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