Energy Subsidies in China

Two new papers by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reveal the results of shadow WTO notifications undertaken on China and India’s domestic subsidy policies. India’s first official notification for green box support amounted to US$ 2 billion.

A report released in January by a US steel industry group attempts to build the case that China's subsidies to its steel industry are in violation of its WTO commitments. China's steel production and consumption has expanded rapidly in recent years; in 2005 China become a net steel importer, a development directly correlated with generous energy subsidies that benefit the steel industry, according to the report.

A forthcoming report from the International Food Policy Research Institute analyzes protection to the agricultural sector in India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam.

Fuel prices, fuel taxation and subsidies for petrol and diesel fuel rank high on the world's political agenda, particularly after the spectacular increases in world market prices for crude oil (up to USD 75 a barrel in August 2006) and the subsequent slide in price to around USD 54 a barrel in January 2007.

If the United States cut ethanol tariffs and subsidies, prices would drop in the US as imports rise dramatically, according to a new report by Iowa State University's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD).

Asian governments are caught between an ever-increasing demand for cheap energy to fuel development and an unabating rise in global oil prices. A few South-east Asian governments are feeling the financial pain of costly fuel subsidies and are looking elsewhere for energy sources. The hunt for alternative energy sources has led Asian nations to explore biofuel technology, among others.