Brazil and U.S. sign several memorandums of understanding

Brasilia, March 3 () United States and Brazil today signed several memoranda of understanding, as part of the official visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Clinton, who arrived in this capital last night, will meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the presidents of the Federal Senate, José Sarney, and Chamber of Deputies, Michel Temer and talk and have lunch with Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

Those responsible for external relations of their countries signed a memorandum of understanding on trilateral cooperation between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (United States Agency for International Development, USAID).

Also signed other memoranda, one on gender issues and another on climate change and consider the establishment of the Global Partnership Dialogue between Brazil and the United States refers to a note from the Foreign Ministry.

Among other issues, this mechanism provides for annual meetings of the senior external relations of the two countries.

Amorim and Clinton also discussed issues such as climate change, promoting racial and gender equal, the negotiations of the World Trade Organization, the trilateral cooperation with Haiti and African countries and the reform of the United Nations Organization and other issues of global and regional agenda.

The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Brazil, with an accumulated 28 billion dollars while the trade between the countries more than doubled between 2003 and 2008, going 26 thousand 260 million dollars to 53 thousand 50 million dollars.

The visit of Secretary of State agrees with the announcement Monday, the Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) in Brazil that the next day 8 disclose the list of American products to receive retaliation authorized by the World Trade Organization ( WTO), amounting to $ 830 million.

In August last year, the WTO ruled in favor of Brazil, a process of almost seven years, presented by the South American nation because of the damage caused to local cotton subsidies from Washington to American producers.

Shortly after the CAMEX indicated last month that had the list of goods early, and the amount that would raise the penalty, the state agency Agencia Brasil reported that the government of U.S. President, Barack Obama, would take action against Brazilian retaliation.

Asked at that time, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said the U.S. will be on the sidelines of international negotiations if contrasanciona to Brazil to implement a ruling in favor of the WTO.

After insisting that Brazil follows the guidance of the WTO, Amorim called a mistake if the U.S. government carries out its threat of imposing contraretaliación and Brazil said the goal is not to create problems with the U.S. or any other country.

Although we are following the WTO rules, “we are not closed to negotiations. We have to talk. That’s our disposal,” said the chancellor.

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