Brazil’s Lula Calls Blair: ‘How About a Summit to Rescue the WTO Deal?’

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, today, to suggest a meeting between Heads of State, soon, to disentangle WTO (World Trade Organization) negotiations.

The 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting is scheduled for December 13-18, in Hong Kong, and will conclude the Doha Round, a series of negotiations that began in 2001.

According to Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, Tony Blair welcomed the idea, but said that he would have to talk to the other members of the G7 – the group of the seven richest countries in the world. Tony Blair is the current president of the European Union.

Representatives of the G7 and of the developing nations would participate on the meeting. The Minister said that this meeting could add the political element that is indispensable to overcome differences that keep arising and that keep being treated as strictly commercial and technical issues.

According to Amorim, Lula expressed his concern with the current status of the Round, and emphasized that more than a commercial issue, this negotiation can affect the lives of millions of people.

Amorim stated that President Lula added that there must be a balance between measures adopted by both sides.

"The President told Blair that it doesn’t make sense to expect developing nations to reduce their industrial tariffs more than developed countries are doing on their agricultural ones," said Amorim.

Agência Brasil

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil to Implant World’s First Robotic Arm into a Human

The Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo, is going to ...

US Nobel Krugman Sees Brazil and LatAm Changed Relations with Obama

US economy Nobel laureate Paul Krugman anticipated that relations between the United States and ...

New Law Limits Size of Brazil’s Primary Surplus

If the Brazilian economy grows less than is expected in 2006, the government will ...

Brazil’s Eletrobrí¡s to Invest at Least US$ 16 Billion in 4 Years

Brazil's state-owned energy company, Eletrobrás may review up the volume of investment of 30 ...

Investors Keep Fleeing in Droves from Brazil

Latin American stocks were down sharply today on continued fears that U.S. inflation and ...

Brazil Hoping the World Will Adopt UN Guidelines on Diet

The rapporteur for the Brazilian Platform of Human Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Dhesco ...

Fighting Poverty Protects Democracy, Brazil and Mercosur Agree

Eight foreign ministers and 11 undersecretaries from the Rio Group of Latin American nations ...

Brazilian Trailer Maker Wants to Export US$ 170 Million in 2006

Randon, the Brazilian maker of highway implements, should end the year with growth of ...

Educating Americans

 The problem with Americans regarding Brazil is that for the most part, they are ...

Truck Drivers Drafted into Brazil’s War Against Child Prostitution

“Protect her as if she were your daughter,” is the slogan of the National ...