Differences of opinion persist among World Trade Organization (WTO) members over what the eleventh ministerial conference in Buenos Aires (MC11) can deliver on domestic support in agriculture.A slew of rival proposals for ways of disciplining domestic support payments have been put forward by WTO members over the last year, with the usual differences persisting among various groups of countries.The delegations from the EU and Brazil at the meeting again championed their recent proposal to curb domestic farm support ahead of the Buenos Aires ministerial meeting, which includes a suggested solution to the thorny issue of how to deal with food security concerns – a topic that has particularly involved India at recent WTO meetings.The proposal is lacking in any concrete figures, but sets out a framework under which trade-distorting farm subsidies would be limited in proportion to the size of each country's agricultural sector.This would mark a departure from the approach that has been under discussion in the context of the Doha Round negotiations for the last 15 years or so, under which the largest aggregate subsidizers would be required to make the largest cuts in trade distorting support.Sen. Roberts Punts To Trump, Perdue On Clovis Nomination
Whether or not Sam Clovis gets a confirmation hearing to be the USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics will be up to President Donald Trump and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Thursday.Should Trump and Perdue want the nomination to move ahead, Roberts said he would move "expeditiously" on the matter if "that is the desire of the secretary and the president." So far, the panel has not yet received all the paperwork on Clovis, he noted.In the wake of Roberts' comments, Politico reported Perdue urged Clovis get a hearing. "President Trump made a good choice in nominating Dr. Sam Clovis and he has my full support," Perdue said through a spokesperson. "I look forward to his hearing, so the committee has the opportunity to get to know him personally."So far, the panel has set September 19 as the confirmation hearing for two of the USDA nominees – Stephen Censky to be deputy secretary, and Ted McKinney to be undersecretary for trade and foreign agriculture affairs.
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