Subsidies

GATT does not directly define subsidies. The U.S. regards a subsidy as a
bounty or grant paid for the manufacture, production, or export of an
article. Export subsidies are contingent on exports; domestic subsidies
are conferred on production without reference to exports. While
governments sometimes make outright payments to firms; subsidies usually
take a less direct form (R&D support, tax breaks, loans on preferential
terms, and provision of raw materials at below-market prices).