In the context of which of the following do you sometimes find the terms 'amber box, blue box and green box' in the news?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) WTO affairs
The coloured 'boxes' are the WTO's way of classifying farm subsidies under the Agreement on Agriculture, borrowed from traffic lights. Green box support is allowed freely, amber box support distorts trade and must be reduced, and blue box support is tied to programmes that limit production.
- ✓ (a) The WTO backgrounder on domestic support explains that subsidies are grouped into green (permitted), amber (to be reduced) and, in agriculture, a blue box for production-limiting programmes.
- ✗ (c) UNFCCC talks use terms like NDCs, Annex I and CDM, not subsidy boxes.
- ✗ (d) An India-EU free trade agreement would negotiate tariffs and market access; the box classification belongs to the multilateral WTO Agreement on Agriculture.
Remember · WTO farm subsidy boxes: green = minimal trade distortion, allowed; amber = trade-distorting, capped and reduced; blue = production-limiting; no red box in agriculture.
Sources
- WTO: Domestic support in agriculture - the boxes ↗ “In WTO terminology, subsidies in general are identified by boxes which are given the colours of traffic lights: green (permitted), amber (slow down i.e. need to be reduced), red (forbidden).”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·