Farm Bill Subsidies May Violate WTO Agreements, Says Industry Leaders
The Senate's Adverse Market Payments (AMP) and House Price Loss Coverage (PLC) counter-cyclical programs, subsidies that are currently being deliberated on Capitol Hill as part of a new Farm Bill, run the risk of trouble at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said a Sept. 12 industry letter to Congressional leaders. A WTO determination of non-compliance and subsequent retaliation could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. exports and thousands of American jobs, said the letter endorsed by the National Foreign Trade Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. Both the AMP and PLC programs trigger payments to farmers when market prices for major commodities drop below certain guaranteed levels, according to the Chamber of Commerce (here).
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“We are particularly concerned that the proposal in one version of the Farm Bill to recouple program payments with actual acreage in production of the program crop will quickly invite other nations to initiate dispute settlement against the United States—and do so with a good chance of success,” said the letter. The letter was addressed to members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. The industry leaders claimed the Farm Bill legislation runs the same risk of WTO non-compliance that Brazil targeted to win a WTO challenge over U.S. cotton subsidies (see 11062015).
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the letter.