U.S. loses $3B cotton subsidy dispute

U.S. loses $3B cotton subsidy dispute
In final appeal of dispute with Brazil, WTO rules that payments to U.S. cotton growers violates global agreements.
June 2, 2008: 1:34 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) -- The United States lost its final appeal Monday in a billion-dollar trade dispute with Brazil over subsidies to U.S. cotton growers.

A World Trade Organization appeals panel reversed parts of an earlier ruling made last December, but found that on the whole, the U.S. payments breach global commerce agreements.

Brazil can now ask the WTO to authorize retaliatory trade sanctions on the U.S. that could run into the billions of dollars until Washington scraps the payments.

U.S. lawmakers voted last month to overturn a veto by President Bush and force through a farm bill worth $290 billion that will largely maintain the cotton payments for the next five years.

More:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/02/news/international/bc.apfn.wto.us.cotton.ap/index.htm?section=money_news_international