Subsidy WatchIssue 15, August 2007

Also in this issue:

News

  • Brazil files another WTO complaint against US over farm subsidies

    Following on the footsteps of an earlier Canadian complaint, Brazil has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to open up consultations between it and the United States over the latter's farms subsidies. The request for consultations, announced by Brazil on 11 July, comes on the heels of a 9 June request by Canada that a WTO dispute resolution panel be formed in a similar dispute.

    Both Canada and Brazil have alleged that the United States has exceeded the US$ 19.1 billion a year it is allowed to hand out in so-called "amber box" agricultural subsidies under WTO rules.

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  • WWF raises alarm over fuel subsidies to fisheries in the EU

    The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released a study on fuel subsidies to the fisheries sector in Europe, at a time when the European Commission (EC) is considering raising the limit on financial support that EU governments can provide to their fishing fleets without notifying the EC.

    Last November the EC published draft regulations that would raise the de minimis ceiling on state aid to the fisheries sector from € 3000 to € 30 000. The EC has said that the current de minimis ceiling is too low, and raising it would cut down on unnecessary bureaucracy.

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Studies

  • Report examines subsidies to biofuels in Switzerland, discusses amendments to fuel excise tax

    The Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), the publishers of this newsletter, has released the most comprehensive account to date of Switzerland's government support to biofuels, as part of a multi-country effort by the GSI to characterize and quantify subsidies to biofuels production, distribution and consumption, as well as the subsidies to producers of key factor inputs.

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  • Environmental Defense advocates land conservation programmes over direct payments

    The American non-governmental organization Environmental Defense has estimated how agricultural subsidies would be distributed among farmers if direct payments were converted to land conservation programs. Current direct payments are linked to a farmer's production history. While less economically distorting than commodity-linked payments, they.are a poor way to distribute subsidies equitably amongst farmers, and generally favour large producers.

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  • Oxfam updates research on impact of US cotton subsidies on West African farmers

    The aid group Oxfam released a study in June that examines the impact of American cotton subsidies on cotton producers in West Africa.

    Oxfam has long rallied against US cotton subsidies, and has issued reports in the past that show the negative impact these subsidies have on the incomes of cotton farmers in developing countries, particularly West African countries, where cotton production makes up a majority of agricultural export earnings.

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  • Swiss government study suggests subsidies needed to promote renewable energy

    A new study released by the Swiss Energy Ministry (BFE by its initials in German) has concluded that subsidies will be needed to encourage increased production of renewable energy in Switzerland.

    The study, released 3 July, looked at financing for renewable energy in eight other European countries. It found that these governments provided a range of support to encourage renewable energy in their jurisdictions.

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Events

  • 8th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation

    18 Oct 2007 - 20 Oct 2007, Munich, Germany

    The theme of the 8th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation 2007 (GCET), organized this year by Green Budget Germany, is Innovation, Technology and Employment: Impacts of Environmental Fiscal Reforms and Other Market-Based Instruments.

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