Oxfam America

Oxfam America reaction to US-Brazil WTO cotton case development

jlee — 2010-06-18T18:49:23Z

Washington, DC—The Brazilian government announced today that they will postpone their right to retaliate against the US until the 2012 Farm Bill. In reaction, Laura Rusu, spokesperson for Oxfam America said:

“This agreement lets the US off the hook for now. But with each day that passes with no reform, millions of poor cotton farmers around the world continue to struggle. Eliminating US cotton subsidies could result in additional income that would literally feed an additional million children for a year or pay school fees for at least two million children living in extremely poor West African cotton growing households.

“The case against American cotton subsidies has been proven time and time before. The onus is on the US Congress to deliver the needed reform, in the next Farm Bill if not before.

“Until then, US taxpayers will be paying not just for wasteful subsidies to large scale US cotton producers, but also compensating Brazilian farmers for the losses incurred thanks to misguided US farm policies. If the US Congress fails to make these reforms, Brazil’s retaliation is likely to be much costlier.”

Oxfam reaction to WTO judgment on US cotton subsidies

jlee — 2009-09-09T23:12:22Z

In Geneva, contact Romain Benicchio + 41 79 79 79 990

“Massive government subsidies for large-scale cotton growers in the United States are unfair and hurt farmers in poor countries. The WTO confirmed today the injury caused by these subsidies and authorized Brazil to retaliate against the US,” said Gawain Kripke, policy director for Oxfam America. “American farm policy is broken and bloated, and now other sectors of the US economy may suffer as Brazil retaliates.”

Total direct support to cotton production hovered over three billion dollars in the 2008-2009 growing season, or an equivalent of 50 cents per pound of actual production, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee.

“The global trading system depends on countries obeying rules and submitting to orderly dispute resolution,” said Kripke. “Thus far, the US has ignored the ruling of the WTO adjudication and continues large subsidies for cotton production. If the US continues this way, the integrity of the multilateral trade system is at stake.”

An Oxfam study found that with a complete removal of US cotton subsidies, the world price of cotton would increase by 6-14%, resulting in additional income that could feed an additional million children for a year or pay school fees for at least two million children living in extremely poor West African cotton growing households.

The longstanding dispute started in 2002. In 2005, the WTO ruled that US cotton subsidies harmed Brazilian cotton farmers and violated WTO rules, but the US did little to abide by the ruling and reduce its trade distorting subsidies. In September 2006, Brazil asked for a WTO “compliance panel” to determine whether the US has done enough to comply with the ruling and the WTO confirmed that the US has failed to reform its agricultural subsidies enough to comply. Today’s ruling confirms that Brazil is entitled to start retaliation procedures, and possibly cross-retaliate by lifting intellectual property protections.

OXFAMExchange Winter 2009

mborum — 2009-06-19T20:02:22Z

This month, the US will inaugurate its first African-American president—a moment that many of us thought we would not live to see. Had the election gone the other way, we would have inaugurated the nation's first woman vice president. We must learn to suspend disbelief because sometimes the unimaginable is possible. At Oxfam, we face dwindling resources just as people's needs increase. Despite the challenges before us, we believe that solutions are within our collective grasp. To mark this, we open this issue of OXFAMExchange with some very special photos. The photographer deliberately chose to elevate the human aspect of the crisis in Congo. These images are a visual expression of Oxfam's conviction that our greatest resource—our reason for hope—is people. It is the same sort of perverse hope that inspires someone living in a refugee camp amidst great violence to name their newborn child Happiness. So, in these extraordinary times, do not forget these extraordinary people. They deserve an extraordinary commitment.

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OXFAMExchange Winter 2005

mborum — 2009-04-30T19:43:25Z

Hunger and poverty need more than quick fixes. While people need food, clothing and shelter to survive, they will never attain self-sufficiency and prosperity in an unjust society, no matter how much short-term aid is available.

For that reason Oxfam America's duty is clear: We and our project partners must help reform government policies, laws, and social injustices that deny people the right to live a decent life. We do this by providing funding, training, and the moral support people need to make real, substantive and transformative changes. The courageous and visionary people who do this work are setting out to build a movement for social justice—and Oxfam America is one of the few organizations to which they can turn for the help they need.