Brazil Tells the World: We’re Not Giving Up WTO’s Doha Round

Brazilian Minister Celso Amorim The South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to reach a wide ranging agreement – in spite of stalled negotiations, and to push for the conclusion of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Doha Round talks.

Brazilian Foreign minister Celso Amorim who visited Brussels for political and trade talks said that Mercosur and EU "have similar views in many international issues" and mentioned as examples the G-20 group and the EU-Brazil strategic association.

Amorim met with the European Commission president José Manuel Barroso and with the EU foreign affairs commissar Benita Ferrero Waldner.

"We addressed the Mercosur-EU agreement and the importance of continuing talks to make quick advances in the field, as well as the Doha Round, which is a bit difficult currently but we're not going to give up," said Amorim following a meeting with Ferrero Waldner.

"There's an overwhelming consensus that between Brazil and the EU the Doha round must be concluded," he said although admitting that during the high level meetings specifics were not addressed.

Amorim said that the Doha round faces "political difficulties but also political reasons to arrive to a successful culmination. However if we concentrate in small disputes, we won't make it. But if leaders concentrate in what really matters for the world economy, if that was the focus, there are chances."

The Doha Round negotiations in the WTO framework and launched in 2001, remain stalled with multiple disagreements between developed countries on the one side, and developing countries on the other.

As to Mercosur talks, they have been frozen since 2004 because of differences in the farm, services and industrial goods chapters, and depend greatly on what happens at the Doha Round.

Last week the EU and United States released a joint statement calling for the quick conclusion of the Doha Round, "as soon as possible" and to fight protectionist tendencies.

However and is spite of the good will, according to Amorim there's no date for a possible resumption of WTO talks following the ministerial meeting failure last July 2008 in Geneva.

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

In a Decade, Brazil Expects to Grow by 70% Beef Offer, to 14 Million Tons

The annual production of beef in Brazil should be around 14 million tons in ...

Is Powerhouse Brazil’s Lula Playing Bush’s Game?

Brazil’s active intervention to de-escalate the Bolivian conflict went beyond rhetoric and statements, showcasing ...

Brazil Discovers Huge Oil Field and May Become Major Oil Exporter

Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, announced Thursday, November 8, that it has discovered as ...

When You Are a Rio Street Kid You Can Never Shut Your Eyes

Jefferson can’t remember exactly how his mother died. Homeless on the streets of Rio ...

EU Worries About Brazil Agricultural Competitiveness Before Signing Trade Agreement

Brazil’s agricultural competitiveness is a concern to countries and trade blocs negotiating agreements with ...

Paraguay Sees Venezuela in Mercosur as Protection Against a Bully Brazil

One of the benefits of the Venezuelan incoroporation to Mercosur is that it should ...

Uruguayan President Tabare Vasquez

Brazil’s Lula Tries to Steal Bush’s Thunder in Uruguay

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be arriving Monday for a one ...

Brazil Builds a Bridge Between Haiti and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, traveled Sunday, May 15, to Jamaica and ...

Presidential Offense

"People who retire before they are 50 are lazy bums who enrich from a ...

Brazil’s Big Plans: 750,000 Property Deeds in 2 Years

Brazil’s Ministry of Cities says that between now and the end of 2006 it ...