Brazil and other exporters are making new moves in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in search of a significant reduction in subsidies and tariffs in world agricultural trade in the coming years. To try to speed up the discussions, the Brazilian delegation will present studies to partners on the organization’s Agriculture Committee. Brazil, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other exporters already submitted a proposal in February for a 50% reduction in subsidies that distort global agricultural trade. This cut would be made proportionately and would require China, India, the United States, the European Union, and Japan to cut subsidies more than other countries. Now, a Brazilian study aims not only to cut traditional forms of subsidies, such as price support, but also to review two categories with no limits on the payment allowed to producers and which already represent one-third of the aid that distorts agricultural trade. The first involves some government programs to encourage rural development in developing countries, covered by Article 6.2 of the Agricultural Agreement. Based on data from 2016, the year in which most countries notified subsidies to the WTO, the finding is that 27 countries used the mechanism, for a total of US$ 30.9 billion.
Sources: Valor Econômico/Datamar News