Ethanol Blog

Retaliatory Tariffs Could Influence Grain Trade

A recent decision by the World Trade Organization will likely affect trade of grain, grain co-products such as dried distillers grains with solubles and ethanol, according to an article by the U.S. Grains Council (http://bit.ly/…).

The WTO recently made a decision on a case against a U.S. country-of-origin meat labeling (COOL) law that will allow Canada and Mexico to recoup more than $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs. Both countries are important buyers of U.S. feed grains such as corn, barley, sorghum, DDGS, ethanol and meat.

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Even though a final list of products that could face new tariffs has not been announced, such retaliatory efforts could have significant effects on U.S. grain trade, according to Floyd Gaibler, U.S. Grains Council's director of trade policy and biotechnology.

"Our next door neighbors have been our key trading partners since the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) more than 20 years ago," he said. "The WTO's ruling would allow them to enact barriers to trade that the United States hasn't seen in more than two decades."

Organizations such as the National Corn Growers Association and the National Grain and Feed Association are calling for COOL provisions that could affect such U.S. ag products to be repealed, to ensure the safety of U.S. market shares with such important trading partners.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

(ES)

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