Wheat Checkoff Instrumental to Canadian Grain Trade Dispute Milestone

By now, you likely have heard that the U.S. Trade Representative has ruled in favor of the North Dakota Section 301 Investigation. Section 301 is part of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, the principal U.S. trade statute for addressing foreign unfair trading practices.

 In a formal determination confirming the market-distorting practices of the Canadian Wheat Board, USTR Robert Zoellick said that “we agree with North Dakota wheat farmers that Canada’s monopolistic system disadvantages American wheat farmers and undermines the integrity of our trading system.”

Zoellick further said that, “we are committed to using all effective tools at our disposal to stop the Canadian monopoly wheat board from hurting our farmers. We will undertake several strong initiatives, working with producers in North Dakota and others in the wheat industry, to address our problems with the Canadian Wheat Board.”

The text version of the USTR affirmation can be found on the Internet at www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/02/02-22.htm. The longer PDF file with details of the USTR finding can be found at www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/02/02-22-finding.pdf

Having the U.S. government fully on board and obligated to remedy the problem is an important milestone, said Maynard Satrom, chairman of the North Dakota Wheat Commission, and a wheat producer from Oriska, N.D.

The NDWC spearheaded the 301 investigation, after the state legislature approved an increase in the N.D. wheat checkoff from eight-tenths of a cent to a full penny per bushel in 1999. Language included in the legislation stated that the NDWC may use the increased funding, up to $500,000 annually, to expand efforts on “trade issues throughout the world.”

Thus, while state and national wheat organizations and wheat-state lawmakers have been involved in helping to resolve the long-standing grain trade dispute with Canada, the North Dakota Wheat Commission, N.D. lawmakers, and farmers in N.D. who support the wheat checkoff deserve much of the credit for establishing the mechanism to help reach this significant milestone.