Brazil Expects US to Comply with WTO Ruling
Agriculture minister for Brazil expects an announcement within days on how Step 2 cotton program becomes trade compliant.
Compiled by staff
Published: Sep 26, 2005
"We expect the U.S. will comply within days and don't see the need right now to take any disagreeable measure at this important moment in American history," says Brazil's Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues, according to Bloomberg News.
Rodrigues was talking specifically about the United States future plans to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling against U.S. cotton subsidies, specifically the Step 2 cotton program.
The minister says it is important for the United States to comply with the ruling and not undermine the credibility of the WTO as members are in the crucial stages of negotiating the Doha round of WTO talks.
"If they don't comply, the WTO loses consistency," Bloomberg quotes Rodrigues as saying. "How are we going to discuss the future of world commerce, including agriculture, if an important member doesn't comply with a recent WTO decision?"
The original deadline for U.S. policy change was July 1, 2005. Another deadline has already been missed. Rodrigues says Brazil is free to impose sanctions and the Brazilian government is studying possible retaliatory measures.
In testimony before the Senate Agriculture Committee last week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman says USDA has introduced legislation on July 5 to end the Step 2 program, but that Hurricane Katrina has delayed the repeal.
Permalink: Click here
Tagged: cotton, usda, cotton subsidies
|