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)
