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Oxfam raises concern on cotton subsidies
22 Jun '05
3 min read
International agency Oxfam raised concern Monday that the US government has not taken any action to meet the July 1 deadline set by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to eliminate the trade-distorting cotton subsidies.
Delay in eliminating these subsidies threatens to undermine the WTO system and could mean increased poverty for millions of struggling farmers in poor countries who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
In a letter to President George Bush, Oxfam America President, Raymond C. Offenheiser, urged the Administration to work with Congress to ensure that the US complies fully with the WTO ruling. Oxfam is concerned that special-interest groups may try to encourage Congress and the Bush Administration to find technical loopholes, rather than offer a good-faith reform.
"Failure to comply with the WTO ruling would signal to the world that the US is unwilling to uphold its multilateral commitments," stated Offenheiser in the open letter. "It is imperative that the United States uphold and abide by the rules that we helped to create."
In September 2004, a WTO dispute panel found that $3.2 billion in annual cotton subsidies and $1.6 billion in export credits paid by the US in cotton and other commodities were illegal under WTO rules. The US has until July 1 to remove export subsidies and to lay out a plan to reduce trade-distorting cotton subsidies or face possible retaliation by Brazil, who brought the case against the USA.
Delay in eliminating these subsidies threatens to undermine the WTO system and could mean increased poverty for millions of struggling farmers in poor countries who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
In a letter to President George Bush, Oxfam America President, Raymond C. Offenheiser, urged the Administration to work with Congress to ensure that the US complies fully with the WTO ruling. Oxfam is concerned that special-interest groups may try to encourage Congress and the Bush Administration to find technical loopholes, rather than offer a good-faith reform.
"Failure to comply with the WTO ruling would signal to the world that the US is unwilling to uphold its multilateral commitments," stated Offenheiser in the open letter. "It is imperative that the United States uphold and abide by the rules that we helped to create."
In September 2004, a WTO dispute panel found that $3.2 billion in annual cotton subsidies and $1.6 billion in export credits paid by the US in cotton and other commodities were illegal under WTO rules. The US has until July 1 to remove export subsidies and to lay out a plan to reduce trade-distorting cotton subsidies or face possible retaliation by Brazil, who brought the case against the USA.
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