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Data in custom database updated: March 2009 (based on notifications submitted before November 1, 2008.
This database contains statistics on domestic support notifications submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by member countries.
Data Updates
Data are updated periodically to include all country notifications on the WTO website as of a certain date. Since the data are not available from the WTO in a database format, the Economic Research Service developed and maintains this database by manually entering data provided by countries in their domestic support notifications posted on the WTO website. Note that the years cited in the data are not the dates when documents were submitted to the WTO. For example, the United States notified its domestic support for marketing year 1998 on June 22, 2001.
The date of the most recent update is noted on the top of this page and within the Standard and Custom tabs. Users will need to visit the WTO site to obtain more recent country notifications (See More Info). While countries are supposed to submit notifying documents on domestic support each year, there is a lag between the end of a specific year and that year's associated notification.
Data Description
— Expenditure data are in the currencies with
which countries notify the WTO. For the convenience of users, a table of exchange
rates is provided in the searchable database to convert currencies into U.S.
dollars, using exchange rates from the International Financial Statistics
Yearbook (International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC) or the ERS Agricultural Exchange Rate Data Set. Note that the conversions are into US$1.
— Member countries notify a wide range of commodities to the WTO. The database groups commodities to facilitate data summaries in the standard tables and to permit custom searches by commodity group.
— The commodity categories used in the database are listed in CommodityCategories.xls.
The product/commodity descriptions are those reported by member countries in
their notifications. The livestock category does not necessarily include beef,
pork, poultry, or other meats. Some countries report total livestock, while
others report individual commodities such as beef.
— A year will be displayed either as a calendar year or a marketing
year, depending on how the country submitted its notification.
— Several anomalies exist in the data
1. Brazil first notified domestic support for crop year 1994/95. This notification
is included in the database as Brazil's 1995 notification.
2. Venezuela notifies using both U.S. dollars and Venezuelan bolivares.
3. In 1995, the European Union (EU) notified support for olive oil as a direct payment based on an administered price. In subsequent years, the EU notified support for olive oil as a market price support.
Standard Tables
The data are summarized in a set of standard tables in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (*.xls format) that are designed for the convenience of most users.
Searchable Database
For users who are familiar with WTO notifications and want more detailed information, a searchable database is provided. The database contains eight sections based on WTO notification categories plus a section on exchange rates. See ERS' WTO glossary for definitions.
Table DS:1—Measures exempt from the reduction commitment "Green Box." Gives an account of the outlays for measures that are exempt from reduction commitments (e.g., expenditures for domestic food aid).
Table DS:2—Provides measures relating to developing countries' domestic development programs that are exempt from domestic support reduction commitments. Data for this category were not entered into the ERS database.
Table DS:3—Measures exempt from the reduction commitment - Direct payments under production-limiting programs (i.e., the blue box). Gives an account of direct payments under production-limiting programs, as well as the type of measure and the monies allocated.
Table DS:4—Calculation of the current total aggregate measurement of support (AMS). Gives the current total AMS by commodity. Table includes the value of production and the 5-percent value of production (de minimis calculation) for countries that submitted the information to the WTO.
Table DS:5—Product-specific aggregate measurements of support: market price support. Gives the total market price support by commodity and the type of administered support program by marketing year. The data show how total market price support is calculated.
Table DS:6—Product-specific aggregate measurements of support: non-exempt direct payments. Gives the non-exempt direct payments by commodity. Data may be broken down into specific type of payments or benefits for commodities, based on what the member country submitted to the WTO.
Table DS:7—Product-specific aggregate measurements of support: other product-specific support and total product-specific support. Gives the expenditures for other product-specific support. Programs or benefits vary depending on information submitted to the WTO.
Table DS:8—Product-specific aggregate measurements of support: equivalent measures of support. Gives the expenditures for equivalent measures of support for specific commodities.
Table DS:9—Non-product-specific aggregate measurements of support. Gives an account of expenditures for non-product-specific programs. Considerable variation exists among the types of programs used by individual countries and on information they submit to the WTO.
To begin a query:
— Select the desired fields in the custom database window (such as 1996;
Argentina; wheat, for tables DS:4, 5, 6, and 7; and Standard report style)
— Click on the "submit" button.
— The resulting output will show the data that match up to the selected year(s), country(ies), commodity(ies), and report style.
Information may be incomplete in some cases, resulting in blank or zero fields in the database. The database includes only data submitted by specific countries in their notification for that year. Output can be saved as a comma-delimited output file, tab-delimited output file, or an HTML output file.
The ERS authors, Edwin Young and Frederick Nelson, wish to acknowledge the contributions of Daniel Herrmann and Rebecca Nelson in compiling and entering the WTO notification data into the database, and John Hackett for developing the web interface for the database.
Back to Overview for WTO Domestic Support Notifications
Back to WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments Database
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