RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) decided on Thursday to allow Brazil to start retaliating upon the United Stated for illegal subsidies paid to U.S. cotton producers.

    The authorization of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body followed a preliminary decision made in late August, and allowed Brazil to start to retaliate upon the world's leading cotton exporter immediately.

    However, the action will take some time to be executed, as the Brazilian government has not yet decided the volume and products of the sanctions.

    The products will be open to the choice by the Brazilian businessmen from a public list which includes 222 items until the end of November.

    According to the Brazilian Foreign Trade Chamber's estimates, the sanctions, starting from the beginning of 2010, may reach 800 million U.S. dollars.

    The WTO's decision represents the end of a decade-long dispute that Brazil first complained against the U.S. in 2002, alleging that the U.S. cotton subsidies caused damages to the Brazilian producers.

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