US Agricultural Policy and WTO Issues Affecting Developing Countries

October 13, 2003

Dr. Mary Burfisher of the ERS-USDA addressing the audience at the seminar on 'US Agricultural Policy and WTO Issues Affecting Developing Countries: Recent USDA/ERS Research', jointly organised with United States Department of Agriculture.

ICRIER organised a half-day joint Seminar with the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on October 13, 2003. The focus of the Seminar was on policy implications of recent research conducted at the ERS-USDA and identification of possible topics for collaborative research. Dr. Mary Burfisher of the ERS-USDA made a presentation on 'The US Experience with De-coupled Payments'. Dr. John Wainio of the ERS-USDA spoke on 'Market Access Proposals: Addressing the Concerns of Developing Countries' and Dr. C Edwin Young, Senior US Agricultural Policy Analyst, ERS-USDA, made a presentation on 'Potential Market Impacts of US Farm Policy'.

The seminar highlighted issues related to the US Farm Bill 2002 and de-coupled payments and the implications of market access issues in the WTO for developing countries. The seminar was attended by senior economists of the ERS-USDA and senior officials of the Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, Government of India, among many others. Dr. R. C. A. Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, chaired the seminar