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Article: ERS: uneven effects from lifting fruit, vegetable restrictions.
- Article from:
- Food & Drink Weekly
- Article date:
- November 20, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Informa Economics, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In March 2005, the WTO found that direct U.S. payments for all program commodities do not meet the definition of decoupled payments because eligibility for payments restricts production of fruit and vegetables. According to USDA's Economic Research Service, this development draws into question whether the United States can continue to claim that program payments for any program commodity are green box supports exempt from WTO regulations without eliminating the planting restriction.
However, there is a concern that if the United States were to eliminate planting restrictions, farmers could shift acreage away from program crops, such as corn or soybeans, and into ...