Senators From Rice-Growing States Ask That the Product Be Removed From GSP Eligibility

Seven senators who represent rice-growing constituents, led by Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., are asking U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to remove rice from the list of eligible products under the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program. The six senators from Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana along with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, signed the Sept. 21 letter. “Over the past several years, we have seen an annual uptick in rice imports from countries that have GSP eligibility,” they wrote. “Coupled with our competitors’ high and rising domestic subsidies, these unfair advantages are having negative implications for our rice farmers, millers, merchants and allied businesses, who are losing domestic market share.”