Farm Bill and WTO GATS Part 1
The National Ag Law Center reports:
Trade policy has always played a major role in the evolution of the U.S. agricultural sector. With the 1994 Agreement on Agriculture resulting form the WTO Uruguay Round, trade policy started to play an even more important role in domestic farm policy. As we move deeper into 2006, the intersection of these two policies becomes more prominent with the negotiations of the Doha Round that may result in a new WTO agreement on agriculture, and Congress considering what to do as the 2002 Farm Bill expires in 2007. If the Doha Round fails, Congress will need to consider the implications of the Brazil Cotton Case and whether current policy may open the U.S. to more WTO challenges. No one can predict the result of this geopolitical chess match, but one can assume that the agricultural policy landscape is poised to change in the next few years.