Counter-Cyclical Payments under Doha Negotiations: An Analysis of Agricultural Subsidy Programme of the US

Abstract

This study has critically examined different aspects of Counter-Cyclical Payments (CCPs) in the context of commitment of United State of America (US) under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and future obligations under recent Doha Round Negotiations. The study has highlighted the shortcomings in domestic support notifications of US to WTO and their impact on product-specific support to the agriculture sector. Earlier, US has argued that CCPs are not a trade distorting support but a decoupled support. However, due to the upland cotton case, the US notified CCPs as Amber Box support, but as a non-product specific support. The US notifications on domestic support have given a distorted picture of the product-specific support to various crops. In Doha Negotiations, the US seeks flexibilities so that CCPs can be placed under Blue Box. In WTO Notifications, the US has treated CCPs as a non-product specific support, but in Doha Negotiations, CCPs are treated as a product-specific Blue Box support. The study has concluded that it is a clear case of box shifting under Doha Round Negotiations.