Decrying “cheating by foreign countries,” House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway called for tougher action to protect U.S. exports. “Things must change. Our agreements must be enforced,” said Conaway at a hearing on international trade as the World Trade Organization tries to wrap up the long-running Doha Round of negotiations.
For several months, trade groups for the wheat and rice industry have accused several developing nations, including China, India, Brazil and Turkey, of excessively large farm subsidies that have driven down commodity prices in the United States. The trade groups say the Doha Round should include restrictions on trade-distorting subsidies in the “advanced developing countries” rather than expecting industrialized nations to carry the burden of lower domestic supports.
“Our government must begin to take on those who are cheating on their trade commitments,” said Conaway in opening the hearing. “These actions by our foreign competitors are undermining our trade agenda and … causing serious injury to our nation’s farmers and ranchers.” Besides highlighting the problem, Conaway said, “Perhaps in the future we will need to explore taking more formal, legislative action to ensure our point is made and our rights under various trade agreements are enforced.” In addition, Conaway said “we can maintain a strong U.S. farm policy and, when warranted, we can strengthen that policy.”