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               Researh Sevice






U.S. Challenges to China's Farm Policies



July 27, 2020
In early 2019, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favor of the United States in two cases that
the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative (USTR) filed against China, alleging that its agricultural
policies were inconsistent with its WTO obligations. While China agreed to conform to the WTO rulings,
USTR contends that Beijing failed to act on one of the cases by the agreed-upon deadline of June 30,
2020. On July 16, 2020, USTR submitted a notification to the WTO requesting authorization to take
countermeasures against imports from China.


China's Farm Support Spending

In the first case (DS51 1), USTR contended that China's support policies to growers of wheat, rice, and
corn exceeded the spending limits it agreed to in 2001, when it joined the WTO, by nearly $100 million
from 2012 through 2015. USTR asserted that these policies created an incentive for Chinese farmers to
increase production of the subsidized crops, displacing imports and distorting international trade.
On February 28, 2019, the WTO dispute settlement body agreed with major parts of the U.S. complaint,
finding that China had exceeded its domestic support limits for wheat and rice in each year between 2012
and 2015. The WTO body also disagreed with China's methodology for calculating the amount of
domestic support its wheat and rice farmers received. It recommended changes to bring the Chinese
policies into compliance with China's WTO commitments. It did not make a ruling on corn because,
following the 2015 harvest, China made changes to its calculations of corn support prices, making them
less market distorting.
China did not appeal the ruling but committed to abide by it. China restated that commitment in its Phase
One trade agreement with the United States in January 2020.
On June 18, 2020, China notified the WTO that it had implemented changes to its rice and wheat policies
to comply with the WTO recommendations. China adopted an approach that the dispute settlement body
had indicated as potentially legal under the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture. China is to cap the annual
quantity of wheat and rice eligible to receive government support at a level substantially less than total
national production. Each year, in advance of planting, China is to announce both the support prices and
the maximum production amounts eligible for government procurement at those prices. Any quantities
produced beyond the announced level would not be eligible for government support and would therefore
not count against spending limits.

                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      INi 1469

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