遊走…觀察…紀錄…

在参议院去年年底批准该项法令之后，美国众议院在星期三也通过了这项法令。

农业游说团体对此表示抗议，因为它意味着美国出口商和制造商将不会因为购买本国棉花产品而得到补贴。

为了履行世界贸易组织的决定，布什当局此前已经取消了给棉农的两个信贷项目。

本台BBC北美事务编辑瓦茨说，许多年以来美国的棉花补贴一直是全球贸易战的焦点，美国数届政府每年都给美国南方的棉农数十亿美元的补贴，因为他们在华盛顿有强大的游说团体。

虽然美国贸易官员认为这些补贴是合法的，但世界贸易组织在2004年的裁决中决定大部分补贴违反了世贸的原则。

But he said the Step 2 programme was only a small part of the illegal US cotton subsidies. Much larger domestic handouts such as loans for marketing had still to be reformed. “The US must also come up with a plan to phase out domestic support by the end of April,” he said.

In a compromise reached between House and Senate conferees, the repeal will be delayed for two years and Byrd Amendment distributions will continue for applications made prior to Oct. 1, 2007.

Since 2001, the Byrd Amendment has resulted in payments of more than $1.26 billion to U.S. companies affected by low-cost imports. Fully $476 million of that amount has gone to one corporation, the Timken Co. and its subsidiaries. And last year, more than half of all pay-outs went to five companies.