Countries Debate Subsidy Race From Climate to Chips

In a week where World Trade Organization ministers are discussing behind closed doors the value of frictionless commerce and level playing fields, some interesting public remarks unfolded at a business side event: a debate on the benefits versus the evils of subsidies.

In one of the WTO sessions Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, Brazilian foreign trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres called green subsidies — like those pioneered by China and recently deployed in the US and Europe — the elephant in the exhibition hall.