Data from the Department of Agriculture shows India will continue to dominate the world rice trade in the 2022/23 marketing year. USDA projects India will break its own world record with 22.5 million metric tons of rice exports.
In May 2022, the U.S. government along with nine other governments initiated technical consultations with India regarding its trade-distorting rice subsidies. However, to date, the U.S. government has not taken formal action to address India’s alleged World Trade Organization violations. Now, the USA Rice Federation is calling for a WTO trade dispute action.
“India’s policies not only violate their WTO commitments, but also impact the livelihoods of those that produce or consume rice across five other continents,” according to Bobby Hanks, USA Rice International Trade Policy Committee chair. Hanks added, “We encourage the U.S. Trade Representative to initiate a dispute settlement action to help American farmers and our counterparts compete on a level playing field.”
