P.M. BRIEFING : Asian Farmers Unite on Rice Ban

Asian farmers joined forces today to indicate their firm stance against weakening existing bans on rice imports.

With GATT talks on world trade liberalization set to climax next week in Brussels, farmers’ associations from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan issued a joint statement calling on the trade body to let them keep their bans on rice imports.

“GATT agreements should clearly authorize efforts of countries to secure domestic self-sufficiency,” the statement said in part. The term has come to refer to a ban on imports of staple foods such as rice.

The three countries currently ban virtually all rice imports, and Japan has argued for keeping its ban under a “food security” exemption it wants in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.