Daybreak Jan. 4: Vilsack pledges careful use of industry funding (Agri-Pulse)

Agri-Pulse published an article that quoted Tom Vilsack, the Ag Secretary, who said, the Biden administration is moving ahead with its plan to finance new meat processing capacity and that USDA will be careful to provide support for a range of plant sizes and ensure that the facilities are located where they are needed. Senior research fellow Joseph Glauber stated that the billions of dollars that the Biden administration wants to pour into climate-smart farming practices could put the U.S. in conflict with the WTO limits on trade-distorting subsidies. He added that there are several programs like the Conservation Reserve Program that can be used to reduce carbon emissions and are generally not considered trade-distorting. But programs that subsidize crop insurance or pay farmers to use climate-friendly practices could put the U.S. at odds with international rules. “Addressing climate change in a way that ensures meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals will pose significant challenges in the years ahead,” he writes. “A broader consideration is whether the exigencies of climate change require rethinking rules underlying the global trading system, particularly those governing domestic support.”