US revives WTO grain import quota case as China lags behind in commitments to buy American farm goods

Washington has threatened to take ‘countermeasures’ if China does not comply with a ruling on its tariff-rate quota system for rice, wheat and corn

China is more than 30 per cent short of its 2021 commitments to buy American farm products under the phase one trade deal

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The US first lodged a case against China’s tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system in late 2016, under the Obama administration. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:00pm, 19 Jul 2021Updated: 9:54pm, 19 Jul 2021

A long-running dispute between the United States and China over Beijing’s import controls on rice, wheat and corn has been reignited at the World Trade Organization (WTO), adding to trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The US delegation to the WTO in a brief note on Friday criticised China’s continued use of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) system for the three crops, saying it failed to comply with a WTO ruling in Washington’s favour two years ago.

If unaddressed, the US warned it would take “countermeasures”, such as suspending most-favoured-nation status on some Chinese products, which would mean the application of new tariffs.

China hit back at the filing by outlining the steps it had taken to comply with the ruling, while asking the WTO to convene a compliance panel for “a positive solution to the dispute”.

“The US has not followed the established practice of seeking to agree to a sequencing arrangement with China that would set out the ‘logical way forward’ …” the Chinese delegation said.