U.S. Notifies WTO of its Intent to Raise Duties on Certain Goods from All "Column 1" Countries (in Response to EU Restrictions on U.S. Rice)
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that it has asserted its World Trade Organization (WTO) rights and notified the WTO of its intent to increase certain tariffs because it has not reached agreement with the European Union (EU) over access to the European rice market.
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U.S. Brown Rice Exports of $33 Million a Year Adversely Affected
The USTR states that the EU unilaterally decided last September to change its rice import system by raising tariffs on brown rice imports above the rate to which it had agreed to as part of the EU's Uruguay Round obligations. The new system unfairly limits the access of American rice farmers to the European market, affecting U.S. brown rice exports valued at approximately $33 million a year on average since 1999.
U.S. Would Raise Duties for All "Column 1" Countries on Select Goods
As the U.S. and EU have not reached a negotiated agreement, the U.S. has the right under WTO rules to increase tariffs on an offsetting amount of imports.
These increased duties would apply to imports from all countries (however, the EU is the dominant supplier for the below-listed products), in order to compensate the U.S. for the higher EU brown rice tariff.
List of Products Subject to Possible Higher U.S. Duties
According to the USTR, the following list of products is subject possible increased U.S. duties in response to EU changes to its rice import regime:
(USTR states that the product descriptions for the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers below are for the convenience of the reader and are not intended to delimit the scope of the products that would be subject to increased duties.)
| U.S. HTS Code | Product |
|---|---|
| 04031090 | Yogurt, not in dry form, whether or not flavored or containing add fruit or cocoa |
| 04063085 | Processed cheese (incl. mixtures), nesoi, n/o 0.5% by wt. butterfat, not grated or powdered, subject to Ch4 US note 23, not GN15 |
| 07052100 | Witloof chicory, fresh or chilled |
| 07108065 | Brussel sprouts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, not reduced in size |
| 08052000 | Mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas); clementines, wilkings and similar citrus hybrids, fresh or dried |
| 09042020 | Paprika, dried or crushed or ground |
| 09102000 | Saffron |
| 20019025 | Artichokes, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid |
| 20032000 | Truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid |
| 20049010 | Antipasto, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen |
| 20057050 | Olives (not green) in a saline solution, canned, not pitted |
| 20057070 | Olives (not green), in a saline solution, in airtight containers of glass or metal but not canned |
| 20057075 | Olives (not green) in a saline solution, not canned, nesoi |
| 20059030 | Sauerkraut, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen |
| 20087020 | Peaches (excluding nectarines), otherwise prepared or preserved, not elsewhere specified or included |
(See ITT's Online Archives or 09/13/04 news, 04091310 for BP summary of USTR notice requesting comments on increasing duties on listed products due to EC enlargement and EU changes to its rice import regime. See ITT's Online Archives or 09/29/04 news, 04092910 for BP summary listing additional goods that could be subject to increased duties due to EC enlargement and the EU rice import regime.)
USTR Press release (dated 01/28/05) available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2005/January/Unfair_EU_Restrictions_on_U.S._Rice_Force_U.S._to_Notify_WTO_of_Intent_to_Raise_Tariffs.html