House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith has asked the International Trade Commission, an independent panel that advises Congress and the executive branch, to investigate the impact of export restrictions on the U.S. rice industry.
In a letter sent Monday, the Missouri Republican asked the ITC to compile a report comparing the "competitive strengths and weaknesses of rice production in the U.S." with other major global producers and exporters – Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam.
The comparison would focus on "factors affecting delivered cost, production differentiation, and reliability of supply, as well as government policies and programs that directly or indirectly affect rice production and exporting in those countries," Smith said.
In addition, the report would include "a qualitative and ... quantitative assessment" of the impact on the U.S. rice industry of other nations' policies and programs, including public stockholding programs and export restrictions.
The report, Smith said, should focus on the years 2018 to 2023. He asked that it be sent to Congress "no later than 13 months" from now.
The commission put together a similar report in 2015, which found that U.S. exports that year accounted for about 7% of global rice exports despite only representing around 1% of global production.
It also called rice "one of the most protected food commodities in the world, and many major rice-consuming countries use a variety of means to shield their domestic rice industries from the international market."
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USA Rice, which asked Smith last year to request the investigation, said it was pleased it had been made.
“We truly appreciate Chairman Smith’s steadfast leadership and his support for the U.S. rice industry’s trade priorities," USA Rice chair and Mississippi rice farmer Kirk Satterfield said Monday. "We’re looking forward to his team’s work with the skilled economists at the USITC to update this impactful study to help inform future trade enforcement actions around rice at the WTO or through other mechanisms.”
India, which is the world’s largest rice exporter, "disrupted global rice markets by banning white rice exports in July 2023, before placing an export tax on parboiled rice exports in August 2023," the Foreign Agricultural Service noted in September. The move sent rice prices soaring.
Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to create a task force of officials from USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office to identify trade barriers such as Indian farm subsidies that should be challenged at the World Trade Organization.
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