China Exceeded Annual Wheat TRQ Volume in 2021
China’s latest customs numbers are in, and the news is significant. After clearing 933,500 metric tons of wheat through customs in December, China in calendar year 2021 exceeded its 9.636 million metric ton (MMT) annual wheat TRQ (tariff rate quota) established in its World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. The official tally was 9.718 MMT of […]
Congress Shines Spotlight on India’s Trade-Distorting Domestic Wheat and Rice Support
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is very pleased that several members of Congress have asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to pursue a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against India’s trade-distorting domestic wheat and rice support. In separate letters to those officials, members of the U.S. Senate and House of […]
WTO Ministerial Postponed; U.S. Agriculture’s Engagement to Continue
Though disappointed in the postponement of the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference this week, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) will continue working with U.S. agricultural interests toward positive reform of this important organization. As a member of a U.S. agricultural coalition that is speaking up on the importance of the WTO, USW representatives were […]
Chinese Government Grain Policy TRQ Dispute Moving Ahead
By Ben Conner, Partner, DTB AgriTrade Over the last several years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and other industry groups have demonstrated how the policies of a few advanced developing countries are distorting world wheat trade and hurting farmers in the United States and other wheat exporting countries. Chinese government grain policy attracted special attention, leading […]
Only an Act of Congress Can Open the Cuban Wheat Market
It is a country that imports about 800,000 metric tons of wheat each year, a mere 90 miles from the United States. Yet the Cuban wheat market has long been a source of optimism and frustration for U.S. wheat farmers. With the change in administrations, there is hope for re-engagement with Cuba, but ultimately the […]
Can An Aircraft Dispute Resolution Open Wheat Trade with Europe?
Dispute cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) take a notoriously long time to resolve, but there seems to be at least an outside chance one of the longest-running disputes affecting wheat trade could be nearing its last chapter. Three months ago, the United States and the European Union paused their respective punitive tariffs to […]
Expiring Trade Promotion Authority is a Problem for Wheat Trade
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is a key trade negotiation tool. TPA is due to expire in the U.S. in a month, posing serious challenges for ongoing negotiations important to wheat growers. TPA is commonly called “fast track authority” because of its provisions to speed Congressional approval of trade agreements that were negotiated and agreed to […]
USTR Releases National Trade Estimates Report
By Shelbi Knisley, Director of Trade Policy The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual National Trade Estimates (NTE) report March 31, 2021, which highlights U.S. trade barriers across various industries including U.S. wheat. The 2021 NTE features reports on more than 60 counties. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) submitted comments in late […]
Complicated Aircraft Dispute Still Poses Risk to U.S.-EU Wheat Trade
Last week U.S. wheat farmers and their customers across the Atlantic welcomed news of a temporary truce in the drawn-out tariff war resulting from unrelated aircraft dispute cases. This week’s published announcements officially suspended 25% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. hard red spring (HRS) imports by the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) for four […]
USW Report Details Value of Trade Promotion Authority, Free Trade Agreements
By Shelbi Knisley, USW Director of Trade Policy Last week, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) submitted comments to the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) on the importance of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation to U.S. wheat producers. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) describes TPA this way: “Since 1974, Congress has enacted TPA […]
