A Little Blue Lie: Harmful subsidies need to be reduced, not redefined

Overview

New criteria for ‘Blue Box’ agricultural subsidies under consideration by trade negotiators at the World Trade Organization will create large opportunities for trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. This would fundamentally undermine a key objective of the Doha Development Round negotiations: ‘ we commit ourselves to comprehensive negotiations aimed at substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.’ The Doha Development Round offers an historic opportunity to make trade fair for developing countries. In particular, farmers in developing countries have a great deal at stake. The Round could lead to an end to the dumping of subsidized commodities on global markets, improving agricultural livelihoods for 900 million people who live in rural poverty. Alternatively, millions of poor farmers across the globe could face increased poverty.