22/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - Last Friday, the WTO ruled against the United States for subsidies to its cotton producers, an important victory for Brazil (the country which brought the issue before the WTO in October 2002) and developing countries as a whole. "This verdict is extremely important for the future of behaviour in terms of agricultural subsidies, and we this it could have repercussions on other ongoing negotiations", said the Brazilian government. The cotton panel of the WTO thus confirms a preliminary ruling delivered last April. According to Brazil, American subsidies distort the world cotton market, and inflate the prices of exports of American cotton by nearly 40%, causing world prices to fall around 12%. The United States immediately announced their intentions of appealing, stating that their aid is "completely in line with WTO rules".