Encourages U.S. & Cosponsors to Pursue Formal Dispute Settlement Case
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, praised the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for continuing the effort to hold India accountable for its trade-distorting practices by filing a second counter notification that details how India obscures the true level of its agricultural subsidies
The counter notification filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) earlier this week shows rice and wheat subsidies that are much higher than India claims. For rice, India’s estimated market price support as a percentage of the value of production was close to 94 percent in 2020-21. For wheat, that estimate is nearly 82 percent in the same period.
Australia, Canada, Paraguay, Thailand and Ukraine all joined the U.S. in filing the counter notification.
“American rice and wheat farmers have been seriously impacted by India's egregious over-subsidization of rice and wheat. This is a far cry from a level playing field our farmers were promised and deserve. I applaud Ambassador Tai and the nations who joined us in the effort for continuing to bring truth to light. This is further evidence that we need to pursue a formal case against India’s blatant violations with the WTO,” Boozman said.
In December 2021, Boozman led a letter to Ambassador Tai and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking that the administration “swiftly initiate the WTO litigation process.”