Brazil to inspect US farm bill before taking measures

03 Feb '14

2 min read

The Brazilian Government would be closely examining the new US farm bill passed recently by the House of Representatives, to see whether it meets with the standards set by the World Trade Organization (WTO), before adopting any retaliatory measures against the country regarding the cotton dispute, said Brazilian Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo after his meeting with US Representative for Trade, Michael Froman in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Figueiredo said during a press conference after the meeting, that the Brazilian Government would closely inspect the new farm bill to assure whether the requirements are met with, in terms of the reduction of US cotton subsidies, which have been causing dispute between the two countries.

Although US Trade Representative Michael Froman has assured the new law passed on January 29, 2014, has been framed taking into consideration the concerns from Brazilian cotton producers, the Brazilian Government would be analyzing the law to see if it meets with the WTO requirements and eliminates subsidies that have harmed Brazilian cotton producers, he added.

Last week, the Committees on Foreign Relations and National Defense, as well as on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform of the Brazilian Senate announced they would organize a meeting this month, in order to discuss retaliatory measures to be taken against the US on the cotton subsidy issue, after the commencement of the work of National Congress of Brazil during the same month.

In 2010, Brazil had challenged US cotton subsidies at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and won authorization to receive US$ 831 million per year, with US$ 591 million in products and about US$ 240 million in intellectual property.

Through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the US Government agreed to make an annual payment of US$ 147.3 million, in monthly installments to the IBA, until the Farm Bill was passed, which would eliminate the long-standing subsidies that caused the dispute.

The last farm bill expired on September 30, 2013, and the US Government stopped paying its monthly installments to the IBA since September 2013.

Fibre2fashion News Desk-India

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