A Wyoming cattle rancher told the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on International Trade that the United States needs to take tougher action on trade issues.  “There is a belief that the U.S. meekly complies with adverse rulings and does not vigorously advance the cause of U.S. business and citizens,” he said.

Nels J. Smith, president, Wyoming Stock Growers Association, told the subcommittee, “There is a strong and growing perception that U.S. taxpayers are putting money into the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to bail out international bankers who have made bad loans.  The present WTO (World Trade Organization) dispute resolution mechanism...provides no incentives for prompt settlement.  In fact, it rewards obstruction or delay.”

He suggested that WTO require an offending party to pay into a compensation escrow account upon the initial ruling retroactive to the beginning of the offense and payable upon final determination an amount at least equal to the total costs of the aggrieved party in a trade dispute.

IMF loans should be made “only to avert the real and imminent threat of a cascading international economic collapse or when the interests of a U.S. industry (such as cattle producers) are directly and inviolately linked to the conditions of the loan.”