I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5620 
To provide for the establishment of a task force to identify trade barriers 
to United States agricultural exports and carry out other related duties. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 
Mr. CRAWFORD (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, and Mr. HIGGINS of 
Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of a task force to identify 
trade barriers to United States agricultural exports and 
carry out other related duties. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prioritizing Offensive 
Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Agricultural competitiveness through access 
to international markets is a vital part of the United 
States economy. 
(2) A healthy, well-functioning rules-based trad-
ing system is the basis for the success of United 
States agricultural exports. 
(3) When foreign governments erect trade bar-
riers this makes it difficult for United States agri-
cultural exporters to compete in the global market-
place while undermining the rules-based trading sys-
tem. 
(4) These trade barriers can harm United 
States farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses, 
and they can also lead to higher prices for con-
sumers and a less resilient international trading sys-
tem. 
(5) Dispute settlement is available through 
trade agreements with 165 other countries and there 
are protectionist trade barriers to United States ag-
ricultural exports in many of these countries. 
(6) Many of these barriers are systemically im-
portant. For example, India’s unrestrained use of 
price support programs violates its commitments 
under the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
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(7) India recognizes that its price support pro-
grams violate its WTO commitments, so instead of 
reforming its programs, it has repeatedly demanded 
a permanent exemption from disputes for these pro-
grams. Moreover, India has tried to prevent discus-
sions at the WTO of any other significant agricul-
tural trade issue unless it receives such a permanent 
exemption. 
(8) The Government of India has repeatedly 
raised its minimum price supports, which has had 
negative effects on several commodity markets and 
most notably has led to its dominance of the global 
rice trade, with a 40-percent share of the global 
market since marketing year 2020 through 2021. 
India is also the world’s largest producer of pulses 
and second largest producer of wheat, peanuts, and 
cotton. 
(9) The United States Trade Representative 
has submitted several counter notifications at the 
World Trade Organization showing that price sup-
ports provided by the Government of India are well 
beyond the World Trade Organization limit for India 
of 10 percent of the value of production. For exam-
ple, the latest counter notification for rice shows 
support at 87.9 percent in marketing year 2022 
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through 2023 and for wheat at 67.5 percent for the 
same period. Other commodities also received sup-
port levels well beyond 10 percent commitment lim-
its in previous counter notifications, including 67.9 
percent for cotton, 31.7 percent for chickpeas, 41 
percent for lentils, and 47.4 percent for pulses. 
(10) Minor attempts to reform the Indian agri-
culture subsidy system in the marketing year 2020/ 
2021 failed to produce results. The enacted reforms 
would not have changed the policies that violate 
WTO commitments but would have merely provided 
farmers with opportunities to sell their products out-
side of the government-run ‘‘mandi’’ system, but 
those were ultimately repealed. 
(11) Dispute settlement is an effective way to 
provide a neutral assessment of compliance with 
trade agreement terms and provide the United 
States a legal framework for enforcement mecha-
nisms to facilitate fair and reciprocal trade. 
(12) Global agriculture is uniquely susceptible 
to trade barriers and requires special attention to re-
solve myriad systemic and economically significant 
trade violations that impede the development of a re-
silient, sustainable, and rules-based agricultural 
trading system. 
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SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the United States should accelerate efforts 
to address foreign trade barriers that harm United 
States agricultural exports; 
(2) the Office of the United States Trade Rep-
resentative and the Department of Agriculture both 
have a critical role in developing agricultural trade 
disputes; 
(3) Congress and the private sector have key 
roles to play in the development of disputes and ag-
ricultural trade enforcement strategy; 
(4) in the case of India’s minimum price sup-
ports, the United States has exhausted other options 
available through the World Trade Organization 
short of requesting consultations under the Dispute 
Settlement Understanding (DSU); 
(5) there should be a plan and definitive dead-
lines in place for a request for consultations and es-
tablishment of a panel under the DSU; 
(6) the Office of the United States Trade Rep-
resentative and the Department of Agriculture 
should jointly develop a proactive enforcement strat-
egy for addressing systemic and economically signifi-
cant trade barriers in the agriculture sector, in con-
sultation with Congress and the private sector; and 
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(7) the Office of the United States Trade Rep-
resentative is the lead agency for United States 
trade policy. 
SEC. 
4. 
AGRICULTURAL 
TRADE 
ENFORCEMENT 
TASK 
FORCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
establish a joint task force to be known as the ‘‘Agricul-
tural Trade Enforcement Task Force’’ (referred to in this 
section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 
(A) identify trade barriers to United States 
agricultural exports that are vulnerable to dis-
pute settlement under the World Trade Organi-
zation (WTO) or other trade agreements; 
(B) develop and implement a strategy for 
enforcing violations of trade agreements related 
to these trade barriers; 
(C) identify like-minded trading partners 
for specific trade barriers that could act as co- 
complainants or primary complainants on dis-
putes that are systemically or economically im-
portant to the United States; and 
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(D) report quarterly to Congress on 
progress towards resolving cases or filing dis-
putes. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out its duties 
under this subsection, the Task Force shall regularly 
consult, to the extent necessary and appropriate, 
with the following: 
(A) Relevant stakeholders in the private 
sector, including the agricultural trade advisory 
committees. 
(B) Federal departments and agencies that 
are not represented on the Task Force. 
(C) Like-minded trading partners that are 
similarly concerned with trade barriers and are 
potential participants in the dispute settlement 
process. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Task Force shall be 
comprised of the following members: 
(A) One or more employees of the Foreign 
Agricultural Service, who shall be appointed by 
the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Ag-
ricultural Affairs. 
(B) One or more employees of the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative, who 
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shall be appointed jointly by the General Coun-
sel for the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative and the Chief Agricultural Ne-
gotiator. 
(C) One or more employees of other Fed-
eral agencies as needed, who shall be appointed 
jointly by the officials specified in subpara-
graphs (A) and (B). 
(2) QUALIFICATION.—Employees of the Federal 
agencies specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 
(C) of paragraph (1) may be appointed as members 
of the Task Force only if such employees have ap-
propriate expertise in agricultural trade policy and 
trade enforcement. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and on a 
quarterly basis thereafter, the Task Force shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on its progress in identi-
fying and addressing trade barriers to United States 
agricultural exports. 
(2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report 
required by this subsection shall include the fol-
lowing: 
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(A) A description of the systemic and eco-
nomically significant trade barriers that have 
been identified. 
(B) A justification for including the identi-
fied trade barriers. 
(C) A description of the progress that has 
been made in developing dispute settlement 
cases and further information that is required. 
(D) The current status of ongoing disputes 
at the WTO and implementation of panel, arbi-
tration, or Appellate Body decisions. 
(3) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN 
INITIAL REPORT.—The initial report required by this 
subsection shall, in addition to the matters described 
in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of para-
graph (2), include a plan to file a request under the 
WTO dispute settlement process for consultations to 
address India’s minimum price supports. The plan 
shall include— 
(A) an identification of like-minded trading 
partners that could act as co-complainants or 
primary complainants with respect to the re-
quest; 
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(B) a description of specific claims the 
United States intends to make with respect to 
the request; and 
(C) a timeline to— 
(i) request consultations; and 
(ii) request the establishment of a 
panel not later than 60 days after the date 
of the request for consultations if India 
does not provide assurances that it will ad-
dress its minimum price supports. 
(e) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—The United States 
Trade Representative and the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall provide briefings on the Task Force to appropriate 
Members of Congress and congressional staff. 
Æ 
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