2006-12-20 | permalink

Farmers quit cotton despite WTO victory

The future loomed bright for Brazilian cotton growers after their government won a headline-grabbing victory at the World Trade Organization, which declared some U.S. cotton subsidies illegal. Backed by West African producers and the British charity Oxfam using American data, Brazil contended that billions in U.S. subsidies brought down international prices, thereby hurting Third World growers whose governments could not lavish cash incentives or price guarantees on their farmers, processors and exporters. The 2004 victory, repeated last year when the U.S. government's appeal was rejected, prompted speculation that all American cotton subsidies would end, devastating U.S. farmers who depend on price supports. Producers in Texas, the country's biggest cotton grower, would be hit particularly hard.

• The Charlotte Observer, USA: Farmers quit cotton despite WTO victory
• Grist Magazine, USA: A Loom With a View - The U.S. organic cotton industry has a tough row to hoe