The Brazilian minister said his government had consistently remained willing to negotiate, including after tariffs imposed on Brazilian goods affected the country’s economy…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Brazil and the United States are moving closer towards a potential trade agreement, with both sides expected to define the scope of negotiations in the coming weeks, including tariffs, non-tariff barriers, quotas and safeguards.
Brazil’s Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Márcio Elias Rosa said he held a “good meeting” with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee.
Speaking to reporters through an interpreter, Rosa said the two sides had discussed the possibility of reaching an agreement and renewed their commitment to negotiations.
“We spoke about the possibility of an agreement. We renewed the commitment to having an agreement,” Rosa said.
He added that Greer was interested in advancing the discussions, while stressing that the immediate priority would be to establish what issues would be covered by the negotiations.
“In the coming weeks, we are going to define a conceptual scope of such trade agreements, which can talk about tariff or non-tariff issues,” Rosa said.
The Brazilian minister said his government had consistently remained willing to negotiate, including after tariffs imposed on Brazilian goods affected the country’s economy.
According to Rosa, negotiations resumed following direct engagement between the presidents of Brazil and the US. The two governments subsequently held talks, including a second in-person meeting during the G20 gathering in Milwaukee.
Rosa said one of the main challenges would now be determining the boundaries of a potential agreement.
“What will be up for negotiation? Otherwise, it will be endless,” he said, noting that discussions covering every good and service could take months or even years.
The two countries will therefore need to identify priority sectors, establish thresholds and determine which mechanisms could be included in a final framework.
Potential areas under discussion include quotas, tariff reductions and safeguard measures, Rosa said.
“Are we going to talk about quotas? Are we going to talk about tariff reduction? Are we going to include safeguards?” he said.
Rosa said he believed there was willingness on the US side to continue working towards an agreement.
“We saw in the face of Ambassador Greer a willingness to do that, and so we will do that. We’re closer by the day,” he said.
At the same time, Rosa reiterated Brazil’s opposition to the use of tariffs as instruments of coercion or discrimination. He said Brazil continued to support the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the framework for universal rules governing international commerce.
“The Brazilian government is never away from the negotiation table for one reason. Because Brazil believes in multilateralism,” Rosa said.
Brazil and the US have extensive commercial ties covering sectors including agriculture, energy, manufacturing and services. Recent trade tensions have increased pressure on both governments to find a negotiated framework for addressing tariff and market-access disputes.
The Milwaukee discussions took place alongside broader G20 talks on multilateral trade rules, food security, excess production capacity and reform of the WTO.
Brazil has continued to call for stronger universal rules for international commerce as governments seek to address growing trade disputes and barriers.
