Most public discussions of the farm bill renewal process have focused on the direct domestic effects of these policies. But U.S. agricultural subsidies, regulations, and spending programs have significant impacts on global commodity markets, and have therefore come under close scrutiny by U.S. trading partners. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has already found America’s cotton support programs to be in violation of existing agreements, allowing aggrieved nations, under existing rules, not only to retaliate against U.S. agricultural interests but also against manufacturing and services exports. Likely WTO challenges against other crop subsidy programs pose an even greater threat. Agricultural policy has become the central stumbling block in the Doha round of negotiations, and inflexibility over U.S. farm subsidies could lead to the failure of the trade negotiations altogether. This would negatively affect U.S. consumers and producers alike.

As House and Senate members continue their work on the farm bill, experts will gather at AEI to discuss the likely risks—to U.S. economic and foreign policy interests—arising from the failure to grasp this opportunity for agricultural policy reform. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner will give a keynote speech on the implications of current U.S. farm policy for our WTO obligations and the Doha round negotiations.

This conference was funded by the American Enterprise Institute's Inez and William Mabie Endowment for Agricultural Policy Research.