Influence Of Agricultural Product Tariff Quota Management Reform On China’s Grain Import

On April 18,2019,the World Trade Organization(WTO)released the report of the panel of experts on the dispute case(DS517 case)between the United States and China on tariff quota management measures for three agricultural products of wheat,corn and rice.The WTO dispute settlement mechanism ruled that China’s tariff quota management measures violated the obligations stipulated in paragraph 116 of the Report of China’s Accession Working Group,and China promised to improve the tariff quota management system according to its WTO accession commitments.Based on the case DS517,this paper summarizes the basic process of the case,analyzes the review basis and ruling suggestions of the expert group’s report,summarizes the targeted reform measures taken by China according to the ruling suggestions of the expert group,and discusses the path of agricultural product tariff quota management reform affecting China’s grain imports.Then,it analyzes the specific impact of tariff quota management reform on China’s grain imports with macro data and double difference model,and judges the actual effect of agricultural product tariff quota management reform in China from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives.The research conclusions of this paper show that :(1)China has taken targeted reform measures according to every ruling and recommendation of the expert group,which specifically include: defining the basic eligibility criteria for applying for quotas,specifying the distribution principles and redistribution procedures in detail,perfecting the consultation process of public opinions,eliminating administrative obstacles in the management of state-owned trade quotas,and abolishing the restrictions on the use requirements of the three major grains.The above-mentioned reform measures have enhanced the transparency,clarity and predictability of tariff quota management for agricultural product in China,and ensured that quotas are managed in a way that does not inhibit the full use of each tariff quota.(2)The reform of tariff quota management of agricultural products has significantly promoted the grain import within the quota of our country,and the utilization rate of the quota has been greatly increased.The utilization types of the three major grain import quotas have all changed from underutilized types to binding quota types.(3)The influence of agricultural product tariff quota management reform on China’s grain imports is different in the proportion dimension of state-owned trade quotas of different grain varieties.The higher the proportion of state-owned trade quota,the more sensitive it is to the reform of quota management.Specifically,wheat is the grain variety with the highest proportion of state-owned trade quotas,and the tariff quota management reform has the strongest promoting effect on its imports,and this effect increases with the passage of time,followed by corn,and rice is relatively less affected.No matter from the point of view of the revision of specific legal texts or quantitative data analysis,China’s agricultural product tariff quota management reform measures have been highly consistent with the expert group’s ruling and recommendations,ensuring the full use of import quotas and promoting the further liberalization of the grain import trade market.With the further opening of the grain import market,this paper puts forward policy suggestions to ensure domestic food security from three aspects: strengthening China’s right to speak in agricultural negotiations,keeping the strategic determination of not easily expanding the grain market opening,and promoting the transformation of food security objectives from output-oriented to competitiveness-oriented.