Number: RL32624
Title: Green Payments in U.S. and European Union Agricultural Policy
Authors: Charles E. Hanrahan and Jeffrey Zinn, Resources, Science, and Industry Division 
Abstract: Congressional interest in green payments today is driven by pressure from international trade negotiations and the anticipated development of the next farm bill, which will likely contain the U.S. policy responses to the results of these negotiations. These negotiations create considerable uncertainty over future farm program options, and green payments, in some fashion, are widely viewed as an option that could be designed so as to satisfy both international obligations and domestic agriculture constituencies. Differences between the United States and the EU in how green payments have been defined and translated into policy and programs may make consideration of EU agri-environmental policy as a model or source of ideas problematic. This report compares current U.S. and EU efforts in the area of green payments.
Pages: 21
Date: November 22, 2005