News

Another run and Brazil cotton payments

Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind and Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer have reintroduced a bill to halt the U.S.’ annual $147 million cotton payment to Brazil.

In 2008, Brazil successfully argued before the World Trade Organization that U.S. agriculture subsidies to cotton producers violated WTO agreements. Following the WTO’s ruling, instead of reforming the cotton program when facing retaliatory tariffs and sanctions from Brazil, Congress and the Administration agreed to pay the Brazilian cotton industry $147.3 million a year – the amount determined as the losses Brazilians incur as a result of U.S. cotton subsidies.

The Kind-Blumenauer bill would stop all payments to the Brazilian Cotton Institute and calls on the House and Senate ag committees to make the necessary reforms to be WTO-compliant.