The Farm Bill: Review, Background, and the WTO (Agriculture Issues and Policies)

The farm bill is an omnibus, multi-year law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. Although agricultural policies are sometimes created and changed by freestanding legislation or as part of other major laws, the farm bill provides a predictable opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. Chapter 1 reviews our current farm programs and discuss solutions for the upcoming 2018 bill. Chapter 2 provides background on each of the major titles of the current farm bill and previews of some of the potential issues that could factor into the debate. Every new farm bill involves some modification or replacement of existing farm programs. A key question likely to be asked of every new program is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the World Trade Organizations (WTOs) Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and its Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) as described in chapter 3.