1. IFPRI Policy Seminar
Farm Subsidies and International Trade Rules
Adjudicating Compliance with
Domestic Support Disciplines
Christian Lau
25 May 2023

2. Adjudicating Compliance with Domestic Support Disciplines
Disputes Involving Market Price Support (“MPS”)
 EC – Sugar and Canada – Dairy
 MPS giving rise to export subsidies
 Korea – Beef
 Price-Gap Formula and Quantity of Eligible Production
 China – Agricultural Producers
 Quantity of Eligible Production and On-Farm Consumption
 Correspondence between Base Period and Current AMS
 India – Sugar and Sugarcane
 MPS need not require government purchase

3. Adjudicating Compliance with Domestic Support Disciplines
Disputes Involving Other Domestic Support Issues
 Raised in US – Upland Cotton
 Decoupled income support (planting flexibility)
 Product-specific support
 Trade effects (under SCM Agreement)

4. Adjudicating Compliance with Domestic Support Disciplines
Other Domestic Support Issues
 Other issues not (yet?) raised in disputes, despite divergent
views in Committee on Agriculture, include:
 Dividing line between (i) product-specific and (ii) non-product-
specific support
 Shifting boxes without policy change
 Mis-classification of certain support
 Continued use of “amounts purchased” for MPS
 Inflation adjustments in calculation of MPS
 Bali “peace clause” for MPS linked to PSH
 Does uncertainty over the proper approach to those and other
issues hinder reform negotiations?