A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would establish an agricultural trade enforcement task force to identify trade barriers to United States agricultural exports and carry out other related duties.
The Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act (H.R. 5620) and its companion bill in the U.S. Senate, the Ag Disputes Act (S. 743), would establish the task force, make up of appointees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and other federal agencies.
The task force would:
- Identify foreign trade barriers to U.S. agricultural product exports that are potentially vulnerable to World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement or other trade agreements.
- Develop and implement a strategy for enforcing violations of trade agreements related to these trade barriers.
- Consult with the private sector, government agencies and trading partners on best practices to achieve a positive outcome for U.S. agricultural exports.
- Submit a quarterly report to Congress on progress toward resolving cases or filing disputes.
The bill points to India as violating price support commitments of the 165 WTO member countries to limit subsidies for developing countries to 10% of the value of production. Because India is over-subsidizing, the country’s farmers are massively outproducing domestic demand and have the capacity to flood the international market with cheap products, something they have done with agricultural products like rice and shrimp, according to a press release from bill co-sponsor Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas).
“The U.S. needs to be serious about going after violators at the WTO that hurt our farmers,” Crawford said. “It is not fair for the U.S., and by extension our producers, to play by one set of rules if other countries play by another. International markets that buy our agricultural products play a vital role in the sustainability of the industry.”
