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The suspension of the Doha Round of global trade talks prompted criticism yesterday that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government had failed to clinch key trade deals because it put ideology before the interests of exporters.

 

"The government put all its eggs in the WTO basket and now has little to show for it," said Andre Nassar, general manager at Icone, a Sao Paulo think tank that studies global trade.

 

The Lula administration invested serious political capital in the Doha Round, leading the G20 group of developing nations that pushed for freer farm trade.

 

But with the suspension of the Doha Round Monday, Brazil could be left empty-handed. As part of the South American trade bloc Mercosur, it began negotiating but never completed trade deals with the EU and the US.

 

The few trade accords Brazil has negotiated, such as one with India, provide little market access for its main exports, Nassar said.

 

"It was an agreement to showcase developing country solidarity, not to generate trade," he said.

 

Many Brazilian farmers agree that government negotiators were more intent on forging a common front among developing nations to counterbalance interests of rich nations than obtaining real market access.

 

"The government pursued a diplomacy of the poor. It was childish to ignore markets like Europe and the US," says Gilman Viana Rodrigues of the National Agriculture Confederation. He added that the Foreign Ministry had given in to pressure from Brazilian industry not to offer deeper cuts in non-farm tariffs.

 

Leadership role

 

Lula frequently cites Brazil's leadership in the Doha Round as one of the main accomplishments of his government, saying "Brazil is now more respected in the international arena."

 

Former Sao Paulo State Governor Geraldo Alckmin, the leading challenger to Lula's reelection bid in an October vote, said this week "it is time to end this ideological struggle, this politicized foreign policy and work toward more results."

 

The world trade talks, known officially as the Doha Development Agenda, began nearly five years ago with the goal of helping poor countries prosper from trade.

 

They collapsed Monday after a weekend meeting of the US, the EU, Brazil, India, Japan and Australia failed to resolve long-standing differences.

 

Brazil's chief trade negotiator, Roberto Azevedo, said yesterday that Brazil had "no choice" but to bet on the Doha Round because it was the only forum to discuss trade-distorting measures such as farm subsidies.

 

"What good is it to obtain market access if unfair trade mechanisms continue to undermine your competitiveness," Azevedo told reporters.

 

Azevedo played down expectations of some farmers that Brazil could bring more trade disputes before the WTO, saying it was "neither seeking nor avoiding them."

 

He said Brazil would continue to attribute "maximum priority to the multilateral trading system."

 

Icone's Nassar said Brazil had not prepared itself sufficiently to resume bilateral trade negotiations in a post-Doha scenario.

 

"There is no common negotiating position in Brazil, much less Mercosur," he said. "We've lost valuable time."

 

Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who insists the Doha Round is merely suspended and not terminated, will meet with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. "They won't discuss anything," Azevedo said, but simply "reflect on the Doha Round."

 

(Chinadaily.com.cn via agencies July 27, 2006)