Agricultural commodity programs in the United States: reform, reversal and WTO implications.

American farm programs have gradually evolved over decades, and the FAIR Act continued the significant changes in form of the subsidy by reducing the effects on production. The large recent payments to U.S farmers continue to affect trade somewhat. But. these payments should not limit progress in the new WTO agricultural round if it focuses on border measures. For this WTO round, the U.S. could facilitate liberal trade by proposing the elimination of agricultural tariffs, export subsidies, and export taxes or embargoes. Limits on the use of anti-dumping duties or barriers to block import "surges," reform of rules related to countervailing duties, and keeping science-based Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules are also vital to facilitate progress in negotiations