RICE

The Uruguay Round agriculture agreement will establish disciplines in the areas of market access, export subsidies, internal support, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. In addition, countries have made a number of commitments that will benefit U.S. agricultural exports. Highlights for the U.S. rice industry, whose 1992 exports totaled $757 million and accounted for 44% of total domestic production, include the following:

Key Developments for U.S. Exports:

• Japan Lifts Rice Import Ban: Japan will establish an import quota for 379,000 tons of rice in the year 1995, which will increase to 758,000 tons in the year 2000.
• Korea Lifts Rice Import Ban: Korea will establish a quota for 51,307 tons in 1995 increasing to 102,614 tons in 1999. The final quota amount in 2004 will be 205,228 tons.
• Philippines Guarantees Access Opportunity: The Philippines will establish a tariff-rate quota for rice that will grow to 238,940 tons by the end of the implementation period.
• EU Expands Access Opportunity: The European Union will cut its rice tariff (established under tariffication) by 36%, a significant cut from the levies applied during the 1986-88 base period and applied currently. The EU has also committed to maintain a fixed relationship between the duty-paid import price and the support price.
• Poland Guarantees Access Opportunity: Poland will establish a tariff-rate quota for rice of 120,000 tons.
• Asian Countries Discipline Domestic Support Measures and Export Subsidies: Major rice-producing countries in Asia will not be able to expand trade- distorting domestic support provided for agriculture. In addition, they have committed themselves not to use export subsidies for rice.

U.S. Commitments:

• Market Access: The United States will reduce its tariffs for rice by 36% in 6 equal annual installments beginning in 1995.
  • Rice in husk: Base duty of 2.8 cents/kg reduced to 1.8 cents/kg
  • Bismuth rice, husked Base duty of 1.3 cents/kg reduced to 0.83 cents/kg
  • Husked (brown) rice Base duty of 3.3 cents/kg reduced to 2.1 cents/kg
  • Rice, parboiled Base duty 17.5% reduced to 11.2%
  • Rice, milled/semi-milled Base duty of 2.2 cents/kg reduced to 1.4 cents/kg
  • Broken rice Base duty of 0.69 cents/kg reduced to 0.44 cents/kg
• Export Subsidies: The United States will establish quantity and budgetary outlay ceilings for subsidized exports of rice. The final year commitments are the required 21% and 36% below the 1986-90 base for the quantitative and budgetary commitments, respectively. The annual allowable quantities and expenditures will be the following:

(Note: This fact sheet is a summary of Uruguay Round highlights; it does not reflect all results.)

June 1994

Last modified: Friday, November 18, 2005