03.01.19

Hoeven Statement on WTO Ruling Against China

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled this week that China’s price supports for wheat and other grains are in violation of WTO rules. 

“This ruling by the WTO is good news for our producers,” said Hoeven. “The WTO ruling found that China’s price supports for grains, including wheat, have distorted the market and negatively impacted U.S. farmers’ ability to export their products. This ruling will help ensure that our producers have a level playing and is important as the Administration works to finalize trade agreements.”

The Senator has been working to ensure free and fair trade and to secure better trade deals for the nation’s farmers and ranchers. Hoeven fully backed the U.S. Trade Representative when this compliance case against China was filed with the WTO in December 2016. Earlier this week, the senator pressed Secretary Sonny Perdue on the importance of finalizing trade agreements to provide certainty to the nation’s producers. Hoeven has also stressed this priority in recent conversations with Vice President Mike Pence and Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council and the president’s chief economic advisor. 

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