China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001 created the potential for increased sales of U.S. agricultural commodities, say local experts.

A monthly workshop at Iowa State throughout this spring will educate ISU faculty and graduate students on this issue.

Robert Jolly, professor of economics, started the series.

“We need to have a realistic view of China and understand its potential as both a customer and a supplier,” he said.

China was one of the original signatories of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the predecessor to the WTO in 1948, but resigned shortly thereafter, said William Meyers, professor in the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

“After China’s revolution in 1949, the government in Taiwan announced that China would leave the GATT system,” he said.

A decade ago, when China began its accession, it was seen as “a big stomach” that would eat up all of the United States’ excess agricultural products, Jolly said. Many held this view because of the size of its population. China’s agricultural farming consists mainly of a corn belt area with small plots of a few acres.

This has not proven to be the case, Jolly said. “Right now China is taking away agricultural markets in Korea,” he said.

Membership in the WTO is a way to level the playing field for countries. Each member country must follow certain rules, including the most-favored nation rule, Meyers said. This rule means a country cannot charge a higher tariff to any nation in the WTO than they do to their “most favored nation” in regard to trade.

“China is big. We want them to follow the rules too,” Meyers said. One important issue for China is intellectual property rights. Before China’s entry into the WTO, little regulation over this area existed there, but now the government is forced to control it, he said.

Meyers said China can now use the WTO to solve trade disputes and help their economy.

The workshops at Iowa State are designed to bring people from different parts of the university together to learn, Jolly said. Topics like China’s role within the economy, the impact of its membership in the WTO on their economy and how the United States can work successfully with China will all be discussed, he said.

The College of Agriculture is joined with seven universities in China for exchanges of faculty and students for joint research products. Jolly said he hopes the workshop series will not only lead to better understanding of China, but also an increase in exchanges between Iowa State and institutions in China.