Canada requests WTO help in farm dispute |
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Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:12
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TORONTO (AP) - The Canadian government on Friday asked the World Trade Organization to set up a dispute settlement panel on U.S. agricultural subsidies.Canada had lodged a complaint in January against the United States over what it claims are illegal government handouts to American corn growers and is challenging whether the billions of dollars in overall farm subsidies paid out by the U.S. government comply with international rules.Canada believes that U.S. subsidies exceeded WTO commitments in most years since 1999. The U.S. can provide up to $19.1 billion in trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, often referred to as 'Amber Box' subsidies.'We remain concerned that the U.S. is providing agricultural subsidies in breach of its WTO commitments,' Trade Minister David Emerson said in a statement. 'Requesting a dispute settlement panel reinforces our efforts in the Doha negotiations toward reducing trade-distorting U.S. subsidies.'The Canadian government also believes that, contrary to WTO rules, the U.S. provides export credit guarantees that subsidize the export of certain agricultural products.The U.S. says it has offered cuts as part of the WTO's global free trade talks, but others have called the pledges largely artificial.With the Doha round of talks currently suspended -- following an acrimonious collapse in July over agricultural trade -- it is unclear whether the U.S. Congress will honor its previous offers in the new Farm Bill.The specific complaint on corn concerns some $9 billion paid out by the U.S. annually in export credit guarantees and other subsidies that Ottawa says unfairly and illegally deflate prices.The United States is the world's largest producer and exporter of corn, accounting for 41 percent of the global production and 68 percent of all exports in the past two years.Canada has been a net importer of corn for more than a decade, with most of the corn coming from the United States.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Canada files WTO complaint on US farm subsidies 