Canada Requests WTO Meeting with U.S.
Canada's ag and trade ministers say U.S. ag subsidies create unfair trade distortions.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jan 9, 2007
Objecting to "the total level of U.S. trade-distorting agricultural support," including subsidies for corn growers, the Canadian government said Monday that it requested consultations with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization.
According to Canada's Agriculture Minister, Chuck Strahl, U.S. subsidies for corn growers harm Canadian corn growers' revenues.
"That's why we took the action we did," he says, "in order to provide the best possible support for our producers by pushing for a level playing field so that they can compete."
David Emerson, Canada's International Trade Minister, says the subsidies give U.S. corn growers an unfair market advantage. "We hope to see the U.S. live up to its WTO obligations, particularly given that it has the opportunity to do so when it rewrites its Farm Bill this year," he says.
Canada can ask the WTO for a dispute settlement panel if the issue isn't resolved in consultations.
Source: Dow Jones release
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Tagged: farm, farm bill
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