... the $5 billion per year subsidies to our own farmers.
That's all it is? Small potatoes!
Actually, the potatoes themselves are pretty large, and they travel well thanks to genetic modifications. The EU will eventually relax those pesky restrictions, no doubt. What I don't think either the US or the EU (or Japan) will do is stop paying farmers not to grow stuff.
My number may be off. I'm not counting the 75% of the "farm bill" money that goes into food stamps. I'm just counting the portion that goes to price supports and crop insurance, and I may have underestimated it. A recent CBO estimate that I just googled put it at more like 11 billion.
