Farm subsidies face cut in US

There's nothing like a budget crisis for focussing the mind and it looks as if farm subsidies in the US may be facing cutbacks, even the politically well entrenched cotton subsidy: Subsidies

Quite how those pressures will play out in the tortuous EU budget process is another matter. In the US there is a direct trade off with spending on health and education. In the EU these are domestic budgetary responsibilities.

France seems confident that the existing budget can be defended, but there may well be some trimming.

Foot dragging US damages Global South cotton farmers

An interesting study from the ICTSD finds that US cotton subsidies continue to damage farmers in the Global South. Ths US dragged its feet, only acting at the last possible moment to implement a WTO disputes settle mechanism decision. It could do more by cutting domestic subsidies, but it is not surprising that it fails to do so given the political influence exercised by southern cotton-producing states. More here: Cotton

The ICTSD has also done a study of how a trade deal would affect countries importing and exporting cotton: Trade