Bloomberg | September 15, 2003
Brazil, the world's largest producer of sugar, oranges and coffee, said the collapse of world Trade Organization talks threatens efforts to create a free-trade agreement spanning the Americas.
The refusal of the U.S. and European Union to discuss reducing agriculture barriers and subsidies at WTO talks in Cancun, Mexico, will make it difficult move ahead on a Free Trade Area of the Americas, said Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues.
``This put the brakes on any possibility of an FTAA agreement,'' Rodrigues said. ``We have two alternatives: the U.S. includes issues such as internal support in the FTAA because of the delays at the WTO, or the FTAA will be completely paralysed.''
The warning by Brazil, which co-chairs FTAA talks, suggests the failure at Cancun could jeopardize U.S. President George W. Bush's top priority for trade policy in the Americas. The Bush administration has said the U.S. won't lower agriculture barriers until Europe agrees to do so as part of a WTO accord.
Yesterday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Brazil and other Latin American countries ``missed the opportunity to cut our subsidies'' at Cancun. ``They were there to be cut if they wanted to cut.''
Zoellick's spokesman, Richard Mills, didn't return messages left at his Washington office and on his mobile phone.
Yesterday's breakdown thwarted an agreement the WTO says would have added as much as $500 billion to global trade worth $8 trillion annually.
'Important Partner'
Although Rodrigues said ``the right path should be an effort for an agreement rather than paralysis,'' Brazil will seek one-on- one trade agreements with Australia, Italy, India, Canada and the U.S.
``We have to compensate for the lack of a multilateral agreement with bilateral agreements,'' Rodrigues told reporters in Brasilia by telephone from Cancun.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told a seminar in Rio de Janeiro that the Americas need to improve existing and future trade relations. Lula noted that the U.S. is a key trade partner for Latin countries, and said negotiations to boost trade must proceed.
``The U.S. is an important partner for all our countries,'' Lula said in a televised speech. ``There's a need to fine-tune, improve our trade relations.'' He said he will seek to broaden accords with African countries in a visit to that continent in November.
WTO talks broke down after Brazil and 20 other developing countries refused to act on proposals to develop new rules for investors and customs simplification until the U.S. and European Union cut domestic farm subsidies. The G-21, as the group is called, yesterday decided to stand by its demands and come up with a specific proposal for WTO talks scheduled for Dec. 15, Rodrigues said.Bloomberg:
