And That Would Be Bad Because…?

Daniel A. Sumner, an economist and former assistant secretary of agriculture, reports that representatives of the U.S. cotton industry call him a turncoat because he is helping Brazil with its World Trade Organization challenge to American cotton subsidies. Sumner told The New York Times "one person told me that if this were a military question, what I did would be treason."

Such anger is not the only sign that something good may come out Brazil's WTO case. According to the Times, "the United States cotton industry is…fearful and describes the case as the 'center of the storm' threatening its livelihood and the entire American farm subsidy system." Says William A. Gillon, legal counsel to the National Cotton Council, "If this panel finds against the United States, it may force radical revisions in U.S. commodity programs."