The World Trade Organization (WTO) has awarded Brazil the right to impose trade retaliation, acknowledging that the United States is overly protectionist.
The Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, said this Tuesday, September 1st, that Brazil is going to use the right that it was granted by the WTO.
"We will soon have our little retaliation list. The goal of retaliation is not to punish, but rather to induce the other country to abide by the regulations, to change its laws. If the regulation is met, there is no reason to retaliate," he said during a press conference at the India, Brazil and South Africa Forum (Ibas).
According to the decision of the WTO, Brazil is entitled to imposing sanctions worth US$ 294.7 million per year, based on the subsidies granted by the US in 2006.
The Brazilian foreign office (Itamaraty), however, claims that the figure is higher, because the calculation should be based on the year that preceded the decision. In this case, Brazil would be able to impose sanctions of up to US$ 800 million.
Technicians with the Ministry of Foreign Relations are conducting studies to determine the exact figure of the sanction, and to what products it may apply.
ABr