Crisis in the rice sector

Question for written answer E-000806/2018 to the Commission Rule 130 Florent Marcellesi (Verts/ALE) Subject: Crisis in the rice sector On 23 January, the second Forum of the EU rice sector was held in Brussels. At this forum, which brought together producers as well as traders, attention was drawn to the difficulties which the sector is facing owing to the large-scale importation of rice from Cambodia and Myanmar, which have the status of least developed countries and which export rice to the EU without paying any tariff. EU rice meets health and social standards, unlike Cambodia and Myanmar where human rights violations are frequent, and is also of crucial importance to the maintenance of areas of high ecological value. For this reason, all the participants at the Forum called on the European Commission to launch the procedure for the application of a safeguard clause and the reintroduction of tariffs as referred to in Articles 25 and 39(4) of Regulation (EU) No 978/2012. Can the Commission answer the following questions? 1) Is the Commission aware of the situation of European rice growers? 2) Has it launched any procedures to alleviate this situation? 3) Does the Commission consider that the conditions for the application of the safeguard clause as requested by the sector are met?