China Requests Compliance Check on Wheat, Rice, Corn TRQ Administration

In an unusual move, China has been granted its request for a compliance panel at the World Trade Organization for the dispute between it and the U.S. over how China administers its wheat, rice and corn tariff rate quotas (see 2107160054 and 1904180020).

China was supposed to comply with a 2019 ruling that it did not fairly and transparently administer its TRQs on these commodities by December of that year, and the U.S. agreed to give China more time repeatedly. The last deadline was June 29.

The U.S. had asked to hike tariffs on Chinese goods in proportion to the unfilled TRQs and China says that is not legal, since the U.S. never asked the WTO to verify that China was not in compliance. China says it has come into compliance with the panel ruling. According to a Geneva summary of the Aug. 30 Dispute Settlement Body meeting, Chinese officials in Geneva "emphasized that, despite its request for a compliance panel, the burden to prove China's WTO inconsistency remains with the U.S." The U.S. says that it has paused its retaliation request and is willing to work with China to resolve the dispute.

At the same meeting, the U.S. continued to block new appointments to the defunct Appellate Body. This was the 45th time it has blocked other countries' efforts to keep the Appellate Body going or revive it.