The United States should demand more detail in world trade pacts after being forced to overhaul cotton subsidy rules, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said on Tuesday. Discussing a ruling against US supports, Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte said Congress had believed the cotton subsidy system, updated in 2002, complied with WTO rules and was surprised when WTO disagreed.
He called for trade agreements to contain far more detail than the "constructive ambiguity" that papered over disputes in previous agreements.
"To me, it's little more than bait and switch," Goodlatte said. The Bush administration is obliged to announce by Friday how it will alter its subsidies.
"What we would prefer to do is to see that all taken into account in the (ongoing trade) negotiations," said Goodlatte.
It is expected that the United States will have to abolish its so-called Step 2 cotton export subsidy and revise its export credit program too.
Some analysts and congressional staff workers expect an attempt to create new supports for cotton to offset the loss of those programs or to count them as cotton's share of any upcoming cuts in spending.
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