WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced a modification to rice tariff lines in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program:

“This step in the right direction is a win for American rice producers,” Boozman said. “Our rice farmers can compete with anyone on the world stage. This update will help level the playing field to ensure our American farmers are not being undercut by international growers. I appreciate the Administration for listening and responding to this petition from our farmers.”

In September, Boozman led a letter in support of the USA Rice Federation’s petition urging United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to remove all rice tariff lines from the list of commodities eligible for duty-free import under GSP.

“We are pleased to see the Administration’s recognition that U.S.-grown rice is an important, import-sensitive crop and they are largely removing incentives for our foreign competitors to ship it to the U.S. by eliminating the outdated duty-free access they enjoyed under the GSP Program,” said USA Rice Chair Bobby Hanks.