Number: RL34010
Title: WTO Compliance Status of the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
Authors: Randy Schnepf, Resources, Science, and Industry Division 
Abstract: This report provides a discussion of how well the Conservation Security Program (CSP) and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) comply with WTO Green Box rules. Specifically, some market watchers have questioned whether the current USDA implementation rules for CSP are consistent with paragraph 12 of Annex II of the Agriculture Agreement (AA). Also, questions have been raised about whether the allowance of harvesting hay and grazing on CRP land, as well as the proposed use of CRP land for biomass production, would be consistent with a reading of paragraph 10 of Annex II of the AA. Both CSP and the CRP are likely to remain important policy tools in the next farm bill. Yet certain aspects of both programs potentially are ambiguous or fall into "gray" zones concerning their compliance with WTO rules. This report is not a legal opinion, but describes both the CSP and CRP programs, the WTO Annex II (so-called Green Box) provisions that govern compliance, and the potential issues involved in evaluating the compliance status of the two programs.
Pages: 10
Date: May 21, 2007