On several recent occasions, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has referenced the importance of resolving the longstanding Brazil WTO case through new farm policy while expressing 1) concern about Congressional failure to act on long-term policy and 2) questions about continuing to transfer funds to Brazil as part of an agreement to prevent retaliation.
In December remarks to a conference sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Vilsack said, “As you may know, Brazil took the United States to the WTO on its support for cotton … and we have reached an agreement with Brazil in the interim to avoid retaliation while we encourage Congress to fix the problem.
“It is important that Congress resolve this issue with Brazil. It's important that we reform our cotton support and subsidy system, and that we reform our export credit programs so that they are in better compliance with the WTO.
“We have put in place a framework that will allow us to prevent the retaliatory efforts that Brazil would be entitled to pursue. Nearly $800 million of retaliation has been stopped for the time being.
“I will tell you that that $800 million isn't just in agriculture; the reality is that we don't do that much activity with Brazil, so they would be able to look at other aspects of our economy, and they have a particular interest in our intellectual property. And so it is very important for Congress to attend to this issue.”
In remarks last week, he said, “And we were also acutely aware that neither the extension, nor the failure to pass a farm bill resolves the issue with reference to Brazil and cotton, which could potentially threaten significant retaliation against not just American agriculture but other products.
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