WTO Launches Probe Of U.S. Farm Supports

Posted by Brian Gould Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:13:00 GMT

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) launched an investigation on Monday into multi-billion dollar U.S. farm subsidies that Brazil and Canada say break international trading rules.

The size of U.S. farm subsidies is a major battleground in the WTO’s six-year-old Doha round talks on opening world trade.

Monday’s WTO probe of U.S. agricultural support for wheat, corn, rice and other crops comes three days after the U.S. Senate passed a $286 billion farm bill, following a similar bill from the House of Representatives in July.