Growing farm subsidies.(Between The Lines)

ITEM: India's Economic Times reported from New Delhi that U.S. opposition to farm subsidies had put World Trade Organization talks back on track. On May 23, it said, "Following the EU, the US has now expressed its readiness to eliminate subsidies of agricultural exports and export credit programmes, paving the way for resumption of the WTO negotiations."

BETWEEN THE LINES: The history of agriculture subsidies and international negotiations shows that free markets are not the actual goal. Subsidies are, in fact, the problem. They contribute to overproduction, which drives down prices to the detriment of producers in poorer countries. If all agriculture subsidies and protectionist barriers were removed, estimates an International Monetary Fund study, the global economy would receive a boost of $100 billion--mostly accruing to the nations that are currently subsidizing.

We're not holding our breath for that to happen. Congress passed "emergency" legislation tour years in a row, doling out subsidies totaling almost $30 billion by 2000, compared to $6 billion in 1996. By 2000, as reported in the Stanford Daily, subsidies made up 49 percent of the net income of U.S. farmers compared to 13 percent in 1996. Since implementation of NAFTA and the 1996 ...