" Zero Subsidies " Through a U.S.-EU Trade Agreement Is Unlikely

Recall that President Trump said this yesterday in the context of his remarks with European Commission President Juncker:This is why we agreed today, first of all, to work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods.  Zero tariffs on these products through a trade agreement is a plausible and useful goal. On the other hand, zero non-tariff barriers could only be achieved through the U.S. joining an EU-style single market, which I don ’t think anyone has in mind here. It is possible to remove a few of the more egregious regulatory barriers, but we should be realistic about what can be achieved.But let ’s focus on subsidies. On this issue, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizersaid this today at a Senate Committee hearing (starts around  34:45):The idea is [to have] a balanced package and move from where we are to an environment where you don ’t have tariffs or subsidies. Because that’s an important part. You can’t compete with someone who is subsidized. And we don’t subsidize for the most part. In terms of whether we subsidize “for the most part,” I thought thisrecent op-ed from Cato Senior Fellow Doug Bandow would be helpful:Subsidies Galore: Corporate Welfare For Politically-Connected Businesses Is BipartisanCongress created the usual special interest frenzy with its latest iteration of the Farm Bill. Agricultural subsidies are one of the most important examples of corporate welfare, money ha...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs