SASKATOON – Three members of the U.S. International Trade Commission have told President Bill Clinton to go easy on Canadian wheat imports.
The six trade commissioners last week gave the president a grab-bag of possible wheat trade sanctions. It’s now up to Clinton to decide whether to take action.
Here’s what they said in their July 15 report to the president:
- Three found no evidence that imports have rendered the U.S. wheat program ineffective. Whether there has been “material interference” is strictly a judgment call for the president.
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If action is taken, they recommended a 10 percent tariff for two years on shipments above one million tonnes of wheat and 500,000 tonnes of durum, with no restrictions on wheat flour and semolina.
The tariffs should be in place only as long as certain other conditions remain, namely: extraordinary U.S. demand for Canadian feed wheat, unusual durum market conditions in the U.S., a low Canadian dollar, Canadian rail subsidies and current Canadian Wheat Board pricing practices.
- One commissioner said Canadian imports have materially interfered with the price support portion of the wheat program. She recommended an additional 10 percent ad valorem duty on shipments of wheat above 800,000 tonnes, durum above 500,000, wheat flour above 60,000 and semolina above 10,000. An ad valorem duty is based on a percentage of a value of the product.
- Two commissioners said Canadian imports have materially interfered with all aspects of the wheat program. They suggested three alternatives: an import quota of 900,000 tonnes (540,000 tonnes of wheat and flour, 360,000 tonnes of durum and semolina); or a 35 percent duty on wheat and flour and 15 percent on durum and semolina; or a 50 percent duty on wheat and flour above 150,000 tonnes and 25 percent on durum and semolina above 150,000.
(See pages 4 and 5 for more on the ITC decision.)
