National Cotton Council (NCC) Chairman Ronnie Lee thanked the leadership of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the U.S. negotiating team for their support of U.S. farmers at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 11th Ministerial Conference held this week in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Lee, a Georgia cotton producer, said, “We appreciate Ambassador Lighthizer and his team of negotiators from USTR and USDA for their efforts and their insistence that the WTO remain focused on the long-term goal of a balanced outcome that will expand trade. This was especially important for cotton, as some WTO members continue to call for concessions above and beyond the reforms we have already made, without anything in return.”
Lee noted that through the semi-annual dedicated discussions established by the WTO in December 2013, cotton is the only agricultural commodity with an explicit mechanism that allows for the evaluation of domestic support, export subsidies and market access.