Canada Seeks Talks Over Subsidies

OTTAWA, Jan. 8 — Canada has asked the World Trade Organization to start talks between it and the United States about American farm subsidies in general and its support of corn growers in particular.

“Canada is concerned that these U.S. subsidies continue to cause economic harm to our corn farmers,” the Canadian agriculture minister, Chuck Strahl, said in a statement.

“That’s why we took the action we did, in order to provide the best possible support for our producers by pushing for a level playing field so that they can compete.” Jennifer Chiu, a spokeswoman for David Emerson, the international trade minister, said that Canada did not have specific demands at this point. The Canadian government, however, noted in its statement that if the United States does not reduce its farm subsidies, Canada will ask the W.T.O. to begin a formal dispute settlement hearing on the issue.