Export subsidy

Export subsidy is a government policy to encourage export of goods and discourage sale of goods on the domestic market through direct payments, low-cost loans, tax relief for exporters, or government-financed international advertising. An export subsidy reduces the price paid by foreign importers, which means domestic consumers pay more than foreign consumers. The World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibits most subsidies directly linked to the volume of exports.

Export subsidies are also generated when internal price supports, as in a guaranteed minimum price for a commodity, create more production than can be consumed internally in the country. (These price supports are often coupled with import tariffs, which keeps the domestic price high by discouraging or taxing imports on the difference between the world price and the mandatory minimum.) Instead of letting the commodity rot or destroying it, the government exports it. Saudi Arabia is a net exporter of wheat, Japan often is a net exporter of rice.