A group of House Members has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab citing their serious concerns with the cotton language in the draft text released by World Trade Organization (WTO) Agriculture Negotiating Chairman Crawford Falconer. The lawmakers say they believed Ambassador Falconer erred by failing to bracket the “cotton language.” Nowhere in the draft, they say, is there mention of the underlying distortions in the international cotton market and the efforts the United States has made, and continues to make, with initiatives such as the West Africa Cotton Improvement Program and the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Finally, given the agreement in the Hong Kong Declaration that any further cotton domestic support adjustments would be negotiated after an overall agriculture agreement is reached, the letter points out, “we are concerned the draft text creates added pressure for a separate cotton agreement in advance of an agriculture agreement.” The WTO Doha Round negotiations are extremely important to the ability of U.S. Agriculture to compete in the global marketplace and lowering trade barriers not only will help farmers and ranchers reach new markets around the world.