USTR Reports Signal China, Russia Still Not Living Up To WTO Commitments

China continues to deploy policies that essentially have stalled the shift to a more market-based economy, something it pledged to do when it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Meanwhile, Russia's actions to adjust its policies have been tempered by protectionist actions, according to a pair of reports by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). USTR said the Chinese market remains "difficult and unpredictable" in no small part because of "inconsistent enforcement of regulations and selective intervention in the market by China's regulatory authorities. The failure of China's regulators to routinely follow science-based, international standards and guidelines further complicates and impedes agricultural trade." The U.S. has pursued a case at the WTO against China's domestic agriculture supports for rice, wheat and corn, a case launched by the Obama administration and pursued by the Trump administration. Another U.S. challenge at the WTO is on the way China has implemented tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for imports of various ag products. "China's TRQs for rice, wheat and corn do not fill each year," USTR stated. The WTO panel examining this U.S. challenge is expected to release a decision in mid-2019. Meanwhile, Russia joined the WTO in 2012 and U.S. exports to the country expanded through 2014 but fell after Russia invaded Crimea and the U.S. and others imposed sanctions on Russia. That saw Russia enact barriers to trade that have resulted in trade flows mostly falling, USTR said in their report to lawmakers. Russia has continued to implement its commitments, particularly committing to the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement (SPS) when it comes to imports of various ag goods, indicating that science would drive the decision-making process. "Although Russia has put in place the legal framework to allow it to comply with its WTO commitments, its implementation of these commitments remains problematic," USTR stated. Specifically, the U.S. report said Russia does not appear to have put international standards in place or opted to put a more-stringent standard in place.