When
American workers, businesses, and farmers have a fair shot to compete
in the global economy, we win. And when other countries flout the rules
to try and undercut American workers and farmers, we hold them
accountable. That’s what my Administration has done consistently in
taking more claims to the World Trade Organization than any other
country – and that’s exactly what we’re doing once again today
by filing our latest complaint against China before the WTO.
China’s
government has set prices for wheat, corn, and rice well above market
levels, which has led to unfair government subsidies that are in
violation
of WTO rules. These unfairly distorted prices on important crops lead
to overproduction in China and disadvantage American farmers who export
these same crops around the world.
This
is the 14th WTO case we’ve launched against China since I took office
and the 23rd overall, and we’ve won every case that’s been decided.
We’re
confident the case we’re bringing today will be no different: it should
bring an end to China’s illegal subsidies, remove significant barriers
on American exports, and level the playing field for American farmers
and their families who rely on the rice, wheat,
and corn industries and the hundreds of thousands of jobs they help
support.
But
it’s not enough to enforce the existing rules; as our global economy
evolves, we have to ensure America plays a leading role in setting the
highest
standards for the rest of the world to follow. That’s what the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is all about: putting American
workers, farmers, and businesses first. It protects American innovation
and intellectual property, enforces groundbreaking environmental
and labor commitments, expands export opportunities for our farmers and
businesses, and sets the highest benchmarks in history for holding
America’s trading partners accountable. It’s all the more important
that we finalize TPP soon because as we speak China
is negotiating a trade deal of its own-- one that would carve up the
growing Asia-Pacific markets at our expense, risking American jobs,
businesses, and goods. Unless we act now to set our own high standards,
the fast-growing Asia-Pacific will be forced to
play by lower-standard rules that we didn’t set. We can’t let that
happen.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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