In a statement made last week by Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, Brazil has withdrawn its own candidate to lead the World Trade Organization, but has not decided whom to support from the remaining field of three choices.

According to the Associated Press, Mr. Amorim announced the decision to discontinue the candidacy of Brazilian WTO ambassador Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa, a day after France's Pascal Lamy, the European Union's pick to head the 148-nation WTO, visited the industrial city of São Paulo.

In addition to the withdrawal of Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa, Mr. Amorim criticized the manner in which the selection takes place, saying that countries should be given more information when their candidates fail to win enough support.

Other developing countries like China, India, and Thailand placed their support behind Mr. Seixas Correa; however, their backing ultimately was not enough.

Mr. Amorim stated: "It's one thing to have confidentiality, not saying who voted for whom, that's natural. It's another thing not to give out the numbers." Further, Mr. Amorim stated that "The WTO didn't present any number, any criteria to explain how it reached this conclusion, it only proves the need for a better transparency in the WTO."

Could this situation and consequent decision be a rehash of past WTO events against Brazil, or could these comments reflect Brazil's bitterness about Cancun, Mexico, in the Fall of 2003 and general WTO talks since 2001?

Larger developing countries like Brazil and China have increasingly voiced their opinions in, (and sometimes against) the WTO, particularly since the summit collapsed in Cancun, in 2003. This time, their voice might actually be heard, but by unsuspecting parties and groups.

In the same visit to São Paulo, Pascal Lamy said to business leaders, that "the general feeling is the WTO is not delivering fast enough." Lamy feels that in spite of the organization's slow progress, the WTO is the best venue for developing nations to solve their trade problems.

Because of its powerhouse economy and sheer physical size, Brazil has the resources to engage in global trade talks while simultaneously attempting to clinch regional and bilateral deals, but Lamy said "that's not the case for other countries."

Though his comments seem positive, gathering support from the Brazilian government could be difficult for Lamy. In late February, the AP reported that he made international headlines after saying the Amazon rain forest should be considered a global public asset subject to international management.

Celso Amorim responded that the comments suggested Lamy didn't believe developing countries can protect the environment, adding that the view is unacceptable for a candidate who wants to lead the WTO.

Last week, in Miami, the Ministerial meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, resulted in good news for Brazil and some of its other Latin American neighbors.

Brazil has succeeded in putting forward groundwork that could diminish the pain with regard to some of the stricter aspects of the United States supported plans; they threaten public health, worker's rights, agricultural matters, and the 'hot topic' issue of the environment, which, as aforementioned, is being contested in the WTO.

A recent article in the San Francisco Guardian citing the extreme and overbearing influence of the U.S. in the FTAA, notes that of the Latin American continent, both Chile and Mexico already have free trade deals with the United States.

Further, analysts at the Center for Economic and Policy Research point out that 70 percent of the remaining Latin American market, measured by economic output, is attributable to Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela - countries with no interest in signing on to bilateral agreements with the United States that advance the development of NAFTA to the entire hemisphere.

Though this meant bad news for the U.S., American negotiators said they wanted to move forward on agricultural issues of concern to Brazil. But, according to U.S. officials, these matters had to be handled at the World Trade Organization, where they could be negotiated with the European Union and Japan.

According to the article, the response by the Brazilians was that if agriculture is a WTO issue, then so is intellectual property, which is already covered by a WTO agreement, and so are other controversial issues like the environment.

However, recent conflicts over land among peasants, farmers, and land speculators, which rose to 1,801 in 2004 - nearly twice the 925 conflicts recorded in 2002, could set back Brazil's chances for movement for agricultural issues.

Recently though, the production and exports of soy to China have been driving recent Brazilian economic expansion since 2004. This growth has maintained President Lula's popularity and put Brazil on track for growth to shrink its world-leading income inequality statistics.

Although talks in Miami have broken down, this does not mean that Brazil cannot gain any support from North America. Canada, in a project set forth by Prime Minister Paul Martin, released recently, after 16 months of work, sets out a new foreign policy for certain governmental departments dealing with changes brought by globalization.

According to an article by the Canadian Press, the new plans are a new look, far from the past several years in which "military infrastructure crumbled, commitment to foreign assistance stagnated, and Canada delegated one of the thinnest diplomatic corps in the developed world."

Under this new plan, trade plays a major role and Canada will start courting and forming partnership with developing economies. Though recognized by the opposition as trite, some of Martin's policies include the smoothing of commercial disputes with the U.S., and kickstarting the failed WTO talks.

More importantly, one of the key steps in revitalizing Canadian trade is a creation of an "L-20" group of world leaders that includes the heads of emerging nations including Brazil and China.

Perhaps, where US talks have not been successful, or have been temporarily sidelined, Brazil can forge a new relationship with Canada on both an economic and diplomatic basis to resolve agricultural and environmental disputes.

Since only 1.4 percent of Canada's trade is conducted with China, Canada will possibly view Brazil as a guideline to East Asian trade due to the recent benefits that soy has provided, thereby granting Brazil a fair share of Canadian commercial activities as well.

No one can know for sure what will be the fate of developing countries, including Brazil, until a successor to Thailand's Supachai Panitchpakdi, the current Director-General of the WTO, is chosen.

In the meantime, Brazil must focus its attention to other venues on the global stagefront, especially those happening within the Western Hemisphere.

Though enviromental and agricultural issues were not directly mentioned in Canada's international statement regarding their new foreign policy plans, crafting a new flexible diplomacy to deal with global developments is a main interest.

Canada envisions working directly with not only member countries, but institutions as well to ensure that losses in performance are addressed and that resources are allocated where they are needed the most.

According to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the existing Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has already made headway in other Latin American countries; in supporting the provision of safe water and sanitation facilities, hygiene, and health education, for over 15,000 people in Honduras.

In Peru, the organization is helping to establish and fund the national Ombudsman's Office which monitors the rule of law, promotes and protects human rights, and fosters alternative conflict resolution at home and in the workplace. Public heath, human and workers rights - topics that are especially important Latin America's biggest country.

In Brazil currently, the CIDA has created a socioeconomic and public sector reform program which aims at augmenting the participation of poor and marginalized groups in public decision-making.

The program also focuses on environmentally sustainable economic growth with an emphasis in employment. The program also seeks to promote and income generation while tackling the existing problem inequality between regions and groups.

Giancarlo Iosue is recent graduate of Fordham University's undergraduate International Political Economy program where he focused his studies in Latin America. He recently completed his Honors Thesis entitled "Embargo o Muerte," a reflection on the United States sanctions to Cuba. He can be reached at giancarlo.iosue@mail.com.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites