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NEWS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chuck Conner or Shannon Shoesmith June 4, 2001 CORN INDUSTRY APPLAUDS BUSH ADMINISTRATION DECISION ON VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN The Corn Refiners Association and U.S. Grains Council today applauded a decision by the Bush Administration not to extend the import quota on vital wheat gluten for an additional two years. A WTO panel ruled in January that U.S. import quotas on vital wheat gluten were inconsistent with WTO safeguards law. As a result of this ruling, the European Union retaliated by imposing a 5-euros-per-metric-ton duty on U.S. exports of corn gluten feed. The three-year quota and the retaliatory duty ended yesterday. Two U.S. vital wheat gluten producers sought a two-year extension of the quota. The U.S. International Trade Commission voted in support of the extension. The European Union stated that any extension of the quotas beyond the WTO allowable three years would result in continued retaliation against U.S. exports of corn gluten feed. U.S. corn refiners export about 5 million tons of corn gluten feed to Europe annually under a zero-duty binding negotiated with Europe in the 1960s. A fundamental principle of U.S. agricultural trade with Europe for several decades has been the protection of this zero-duty binding. Chuck Conner, President of the Corn Refiners Association, said, "Today, as a result of this decision by the Bush Administration, the zero-duty binding on U.S. exports of corn gluten feed is restored once again. A large market for U.S. corn producers has been preserved for the future." The U.S. Grains Council, the export market development arm of the U.S. corn industry, also welcomed the administration's decision to let the quota lapse. Council President Ken Hobbie said, "The EU's retaliatory tariff jeopardized approximately $400 million a year in U.S. sales of corn gluten feed. This reduction in demand for corn products would have had dire financial consequences for U.S. corn producers, who are already facing numerous challenges in the export arena." For more information on the corn refining industry, visit the Corn Capsules newsletter page. 
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