USTR Report Confirms China’s Non-Compliance Under WTO

MEMPHIS – National Cotton Council Chairman Kenneth Hood said today that the U.S. should take steps to ensure China abides by its trade agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Gunnison, MS, cotton producer’s call for action came after the U. S. Trade Representative’s Office issued its 2002 Compliance Report on China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The report echoed NCC concerns that China was not adhering to its commitments under the WTO in its operation of a tariff rate quota (TRQ) for cotton imports.

The report stated that the quotas were "operated with only limited transparency" with no specific details on amounts and recipients of the allocations. It also noted that the quota regulations "reserved a significant portion of the TRQs for the processing and re-export trade, despite China’s market access and national treatment commitments."

The report also cited the several instances throughout 2002 where the U.S. government raised these concerns with China, to no avail.

The report, Hood said, "confirmed what the National Cotton Council has been saying since May. China is not living up to its market access commitments for cotton. It is restricting access for U.S. cotton while rapidly increasing its cotton textile exports to the United States.

"China’s policy is hurting U.S. cotton producers and U.S. textile manufacturers. The U.S. should take steps to ensure that China complies with its agreements."

The National Cotton Council of America’s (NCC) mission is to ensure the ability of all U.S. cotton industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and manufactured product markets at home and abroad.