US challenges Turkey's rice import ban

The Bush administration filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation about Turkey's restrictions on imports of American rice, the US Trade Representative said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Turkey re-instituted its domestic purchase requirement which allows limited imports of rice at reduced duty rates, but only if an importer also purchases significant quantities of domestic rice.
"As a result of these unfair restrictions, Turkey's imports of US rice of all types have declined by two-thirds since 2003, with imports of US milled and semi-milled rice down by 91 percent over the same period," the agency said in a statement.
"We have raised this issue with the government of Turkey on several occasions, both bilaterally and in Geneva, but our concerns have not been addressed," US Trade Representative Rob Portman said.