US demands for major developing countries to make more concessions in global trade talks were not justifiable, Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said on Friday. His remarks could deflate renewed optimism over recent progress in the decade-old Doha round of negotiations within the World Trade Organisation.
Brazil favours a continuation of the Doha round on the basis of a preliminary agreement that brought the talks nearly to a final deal in mid-2008 but rejected demands that developing countries now need to make more concessions, Patriota said. "What we don't consider reasonable is that developed countries, particularly the United States, are demanding additional contributions to those that were foreseen in 2008," Patriota said in a radio interview.
Brazil objects to US demands for more market access to services and nonfarm goods, a foreign ministry spokeswoman later said. Washington also was asking China, India and Brazil to make higher, obligatory tariff cuts on industrial goods, the spokeswoman said. In line with the growing weight of its booming economy, Brazil has become a key player in global trade talks in recent years. As one of the world's biggest farm exporters, it has tried to forge a common position between developing nations.
Patriota's comments indicate that the new administration of President Dilma Rousseff will remain tough on trade issues with Washington despite recent signals of wanting to improve ties with the United States. US demands of developing nations were not "justifiable", particularly after rich countries triggered the 2008-09 global financial crisis and emerging markets were instrumental in its recovery with their strong economic growth, Patriota said. "We're already making a sizable contribution." The Rousseff government has come under growing pressure from industry leaders to act in what her finance minister has called a global currency war that is quickly eroding Brazil's trade surplus.