WTO panel rules in favor of U.S. over Turkey’s rice trade barriers

WTO panel rules in favor of U.S. over TurkeyÆs rice trade barriers A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel issued a report on Friday finding Turkey's restrictions on market access for U.S. rice in violation of WTO rules.
   The panel agreed with the United States that Turkey's failure to grant licenses to import rice and its operation of a discretionary import licensing system for rice demonstrated a failure by Turkey to meet its WTO membership obligations.
   The panel also sided with the United States that Turkey's domestic purchase requirement, under which Turkey requires importers to purchase large quantities of domestic rice to import rice at preferential tariff rates, also violates the WTO national treatment provisions.
   'This is welcome news for the U.S. rice industry,' said Betsy Ward, president and chief executive officer of USA Rice, an industry trade association, in a statement.
   'Turkey is a key market for U.S. rice and we felt strongly that Turkey's system for granting import licenses violated the country’s international trade commitments,' said Chuck Connor, acting U.S. agriculture secretary. 'These unfair trade barriers had a significant effect on U.S. rice exports to Turkey, causing them to drop 74 percent from 2005 to 2006, from almost $34 million to $9 million.'