Republicans Reintroduce Bill to Establish Task Force on Ag Trade Enforcement
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act, with the aim of stopping what he called unfair subsidies in India and China for their domestic rice farmers. He was joined on the bill by Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., John Boozman, R-Ark., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
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“The rice industry is critical to Louisiana’s economy. We must level the playing field for our rice farmers," he said in a press release announcing the bill.
"When countries blatantly violate their WTO commitments, they must be held accountable. Giving the USDA a bigger role in trade disputes is a crucial step to safeguard a key sector of Mississippi’s and our nation’s economy," Hyde-Smith said.
"America’s ag industry can out-compete anyone in the world -- as long as the rules are fair. But right now, our farmers, ranchers, and fishermen are suffering because of foreign countries violating their trade obligations. We must level the playing field to bolster our domestic ag industry. I’m proud to join Senator Cassidy’s efforts to eliminate barriers to our agriculture exports and will keep working to remove red tape for those in our ag industry," Tuberville said.
The bill would create a task force led by the U.S. trade representative, and require that it provide recommendations to Congress on how to deal with "unfair subsidies they identify."