AP Source: US and Brazil resolve decade-long trade fight over cotton subsidies

An official close to the negotiations says the United States and Brazil have resolved a decade-long trade battle over subsidies Washington provided to American cotton growers.

The agreement would resolve a bitter trade fight that had strained relations between the two countries since 2002 when Brazil brought a case against the United States charging that the subsidies Washington paid American cotton farmers were a violation of global trade rules. The World Trade Organization ruled in Brazil's favor and the United States had been forced to make annual payments to Brazil. The official would only discuss the agreement on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

The agreement resolving the dispute was to be signed Wednesday in Washington by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and their Brazilian counterparts