US Requests WTO Panel in China Grain Import TRQs

The U.S. has requested a WTO dispute settlement panel be established to investigate Chinese tariff- rate quotas (TRQs) used for wheat, rice and corn.The action stems from the initial case filed by the Obama administration and they had requested consultations in December. The Trump administration moved ahead with a formal request for the dispute settlement panel, which is on the formal agenda for the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting for August 31. While China can block the first request, the panel must be established via a second request unless all WTO members agree to block it.The Trump administration signaled in a report to Congress that they were still pursuing the agricultural cases filed by the Obama administration on China agriculture matters.Since the U.S. raised the issue last year, the Australia, the European Union, Canada and Thailand have joined the dispute as third parties.The U.S. contends China has failed to administer the TRQs on a "transparent, predictable,", or "fair" basis.