Brazil won a preliminary ruling at the World Trade Organization on Monday night that could force the US to lower the subsidies it pays farmers to grow cotton and, eventually, most subsidized crops, The New York Times reported.

The decision supports Brazil's contention that the subsidies paid to American cotton farmers violate international trade rules. A final ruling against the United States could lead to stiff penalties if it fails to change its practices. In another recent case involving steel, President Bush chose to remove subsidies and therefore did not have to face the penalties. As the first successful challenge of a wealthy nation's domestic agricultural subsidies, the Brazilian case could also force the US, the countries of Europe and other wealthy nations to offer new compromises at global trade talks that have been blocked over this agriculture issue for more than a year.

The $300-billion in annual farm subsidies and supports paid by the world's wealthiest nations have been the bane of Third World farmers.