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United States Files WTO Case Against Turkey Over Rice Restrictions

At a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman announced that the United States filed a World Trade Organization case against Turkey Wednesday due to its unfair restrictions on U.S. rice exports.
 
Turkey restricts rice imports in various ways through its import licensing requirements. Just yesterday, Turkey reinstituted its domestic purchase requirement. This requirement allows limited imports of rice at reduced duty rates, but only if an importer also purchases
significant quantities of domestic rice - in some cases, more than three times the quantity to be imported. As a result of these unfair restrictions, Turkey's imports of U.S. rice of all types have declined by two-thirds since 2003, with imports of U.S. milled and semi-milled rice down by 91% over the same period.
 
"American rice farmers deserve fair access to Turkey's market," says Portman. "Right now American rice exports are being unfairly restricted. That's wrong. We have raised this issue with the Government of Turkey on several occasions, both bilaterally and in
Geneva, but our concerns have not been addressed. We sincerely hope that Turkey uses the opportunity of WTO consultations to resolve these concerns."
 
"The Bush Administration is committed to leveling the playing field to ensure our farmers are treated fairly by opening markets around the world and aggressively enforcing our trade agreements," says Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "America's farmers have world-class products and are eager to compete in the global market place but deserve fair treatment."
 
With 70 million potential consumers, Turkey's domestic rice market is forecast to be worth more than $200 million in 2006.
 
Consultations are the first step in a WTO dispute. Under WTO rules, parties that do not resolve an issue through consultations may refer the matter to a WTO dispute settlement panel.