USITC Releases Report on U.S. Rice Industry and Global Competitiveness

March 7, 2025
News Release 25-032
Inv. No(s). 332-603
Contact: Claire Huber, 202-205-1819

The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission or USITC) today released a report on the competitiveness of the rice industries in the United States and other major producing and exporting countries. 

The report, Rice: Global Competitiveness and Impacts on Trade and the U.S. Industry (Inv. No. 332-603), was requested by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means (Committee) in a letter received on February 5, 2024. The Committee requested that the Commission conduct an investigation and produce a report that updates the findings of a USITC report on rice submitted to the Committee in 2015.

The new report, focused primarily on changes to the rice industry during from 2018 through 2023, provides information on recent developments in the rice industry in the United States, as well as Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam. In addition, the report:

• Compares the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the major exporters.
• Provides a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the impact of government policies and programs on the U.S. rice industry and food security in developing countries.
• Describes the effects of exports from major producing and exporting countries on the U.S. industry.

Major Findings of the Investigation

• A small share of rice production is traded internationally, and rice exports are concentrated among a small number of exporters. India is the largest exporter. The United States supplies 1 percent of global production and 5 percent of global exports.
   
• Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population and plays an important cultural, economic and food security role for many countries. As a result, there is significant government intervention in the rice industry, including public stockholding, consumer and producer subsidies, policies that encourage production and trade policies.
   
• Global events between 2018 and 2023 triggered price fluctuations in the rice industry. These events include:
  • The COVID-19 pandemic.
  • India’s export restrictions.
  • Spikes in transportation and input costs.
  • Climate- and weather-related disruptions such as droughts, floods and saltwater intrusion.
     
• Differences in production costs across countries affect the competitiveness of major rice producers. Producers with low production costs can offer lower prices, which makes their exports more competitive. Producers with high production costs often cannot compete in price-sensitive markets if they do not have other advantages such as product differentiation or tariff preferences. India, Pakistan and Vietnam had some of the lowest production costs; the United States, Brazil, China and Indonesia had some of the highest.
   
• According to the Commission’s economic modeling, greater market access would increase U.S. rice exports. Simulations show that the removal of all import tariffs, both U.S. and foreign, would have a net positive effect on U.S. rice production and exports. The removal of such tariffs would cause U.S. exports to rise more than 40 percent from their baseline 2023 level. The Commission’s economic modeling also shows potential gains to U.S. rice exports from other policies modeled, such as an increase in Japan’s tariff-rate quota. 

Rice: Global Competitiveness and Impacts on Trade and the U.S. Industry (Inv. No. 332-603, USITC Publication 5600, March 2025) is available on the USITC website at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5600.pdf.

About Factfinding Investigations

USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs, trade and competitiveness and are generally conducted under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission’s objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.