TEXAS

Texas Agriculture - policy paper

Texas Agriculture - policy paper

Introduction

The United States has issued a proposal to the world trading community outlining several steps to jumpstart the stalled World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on agriculture. The proposal is intended as a challenge to members of the WTO to improve market access through “ambitious tariff reduction” and to “move aggressively” to cut trade-distorting domestic support (Portman, 2005).

Texas is another 'dual doctrine' state that has both riparian and appropriative regimes for water rights - resulting from a 'layering of law' imposed by successive Spanish and English common law regimes in the history of that states transition from colonial rule to independence and statehood within the larger union. Despite the attempts of the Texas legislature to adapt its laws to changing pressures on the state's water resources, so as to allow for more appropriative allocations while protecting previously-held riparian rights, the coincidence of these two regimes has been at the root of many conflicts over water in the state (Griffin, 1998).

Although the major parameters of the proposal are yet to be defined, these steps seem consistent with commitments made by WTO participating countries to move agricultural trade negotiations forward in the framework agreement of July 2004. This proposal therefore is a step forward because there was a general pessimism about the likelihood of any significant reforms of the world trading system to take place, especially after the U.S. adopted the Farm Security and Rural Investment (FSRI) Act of 2002.

The enactment of FSRI Act to a larger extent was perceived as a means to expand the generous subsidies to producers and because the policy has the support of the most of the political establishment and producers' organizations in the U.S., could potentially remain in place for an extended time (Sumner, 2003a).

The adoption of the FSRI Act of 2002 was found critical and Sumner (2003a) anticipated that it would probably factor in future WTO negotiations, thus, making the prospects for further trade liberalization remote. The basis of the framework document of the July 2004 agreement advocated a reduction in all trade distorting policies to ensure an open market, an elimination of all forms of export subsidies to increase export competition, and a major overhaul of domestic policies in all countries.

The framework document provides some flexibility to developing countries to smooth their transition toward a reduced tariff system without major adverse impacts in their import-sensitive sectors (WTO, 2004). The July 2004 framework agreement puts a particular attention on cotton in light of a recent WTO ruling against U.S. farm policy and in favor of Brazil. This ruling upheld an earlier decision by the Dispute Settlement Body that the U.S. cotton program and the U.S. export credit program contribute to depress prices in the world cotton market.

Thus, the framework recognizes the nexus between trade and development and the vulnerability of least developed countries to downturns in international prices of cotton. U.S. cotton subsidies have been the focus of attention for many researchers since ...