WTO Extends Elimination Period for Certain Developing Country Export Subsidies

Yesterday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures announced its decision to give 19 developing countries a bit more time to eliminate their prohibited export subsidies.  Under the WTO Subsidies Agreement, export subsidies are defined as financial contributions made by governments to specific industries that confer benefits contingent upon export performance.  The Committee extended by one year (until the end of 2011) the requirement under WTO rules that all export subsidies be eliminated.

The beneficiary countries are the following: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Jordan, Mauritius, Panama, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Uruguay.  The export subsidy programs primarily relate to free trade zones and tax incentives for exporters.

More information about WTO subsidy and CVD measures can be found here.

(cgb)