A brewing wheat trade dispute between the United States and Canada will go to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a settlement, local media reported Thursday.
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick on Thursday announced that the US wants a WTO panel to mediate the dispute with Canada over its wheat export policies, said the report.
Zoellick raised the issue about the bilateral wheat trade last year and requested negotiations with Canada before the WTO in December over the US claims about Canadian Wheat Board's unfairness and monopolistic trade practices, said the report.
Talks were then held between the two parties before the WTO in late January, which failed to resolve the issue.
The issue has once again been underlined recently as the US Commerce Department decided Tuesday that it will impose a 3.9 percent preliminary tariff on wheat imports from Canada.
The US government and farmers contend that the Canadian Wheat Board undercuts the price of US wheat to gain market share in the United States.
Canadian government and leading wheat exporter, Canadian Wheat Board, however, denied the allegations, saying the tariff imposition is unfair to Canadian farmers.
(eastday.com March 7, 2003)
