(AFP via CommonDreams.org)
The World Trade Organization called on the United States on Wednesday to cut its farm subsidies, saying that they were so “considerable” that they could affect market prices. In a report analysing Washington’s policies since 2007, the trade body said that while promoting its exports, the United States should also reduce “distorting measures ... including ... support for agriculture.”
The WTO noted that support granted to the sector under the multi-billion-dollar 2008 Farm Act are mostly “linked to prices and or production.” Thanks to this support, “producers of cereals, oilseeds, and cotton are effectively insulated from market prices while sugar and dairy have market price support programmes,” said the WTO. “The large size of the agriculture sector means that the absolute amount of support is considerable, varies from one year to another depending on prices, and can affect world prices,” it added. Read more here.
