page_title: Thailand–United States relations
section_title: Rice subsidies
hierarchical_section_title: Thailand–United States relations / Current bilateral issues / Rice subsidies
caption_attribution_description: Rice fields near Chiang Mai, Thailand. Campos de arroz cerca de Chiang Mai, Tailandia.
context_page_description: Bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States of America date back to 1818. Thailand and the United States have long been close allies and diplomatic partners.
  According to a 2012 Gallup public opinion poll, 60% of Thais approved of U.S. leadership under the Obama Administration, with 14% disapproving and 26% uncertain. As of 2013, there were 7314 international students of Thai origin studying in the United States, representing 0.9 percent of all foreigners pursuing higher education in America. According to a 2014 Global Opinion Poll, 73% of Thais have a favorable view of the U.S, compared to 15% unfavorable.
context_section_description: Since the 1980s, US farm subsidies for rice, along with copyright and patent issues, have constituted the "major problems in U.S.-Thai trade ties". The rice subsidy was one of the primary obstacles to the negotiation of a bilateral FTA. Approximately two-thirds of Thailand's population are rice farmers, and the U.S. subsidy "severely strains U.S.-Thai relations as Bangkok finds itself unable to explain the income lost to its 35 million rice farmers". USDA-funded research to produce variants of Jasmine rice capable of growing in the US are viewed as biopiracy by many Thai rice farmers. In 2005, Thai rice farmers gathered outside the US embassy to chant a "traditional ritual to bring misfortune to enemies". Farmer protests also occurred outside the US embassy during the 2001 WTO ministerial meeting in Doha.
  Thai officials "sharply criticized" the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, and retaliated by joining two WTO dispute resolution cases against the US: one against anti-dumping subsidy offsets, and the Shrimp-Turtle Case. According to Oxfam, the US spends US$1.3 billion on rice subsidies annually for a crop that costs US$1.8 billion to grow, allowing the US to become the second largest global rice exporter (after Thailand) and dump rice at 34 percent below the cost of production. Following the election of Obama and the 2008 global financial crisis, there are Thai fears of renewed US protectionism.
caption: Rice production in Thailand employs approximately two-thirds of the population, causing friction over US rice subsidies
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