Brazil gains leeway to exert greater pressure on India and Indonesia

Brazil, now backed by President Jair Bolsonaro’s Provisional Measure approved on the 27th, will push for new negotiations with India and Indonesia. The measure allows the country to take unilateral retaliatory measures against countries found guilty of illegal practices that harm Brazilian exports.

Brazil may be winning the legal battle right now, but it has yet to reap the benefits. The country was able to persuade the World Trade Organization (WTO) to condemn India’s sugar export policies, as well as win the better half of a dispute over the entry of chicken meat into Indonesia in 2020.

The two emerging giants recurred to WTO’s Appellate Body knowing that it is not operational and, therefore, it cannot concur. In other words, the two countries filled an “appeal to the void”. By doing so, they have put the Brazilian victory to a halt and were able to maintain the practices deemed illegal by the WTO’s panel (investigation committee), which cost millions of dollars to Brazilian producers.

Now, the expectation at the government is to use the provisional measure to incentive negotiations, at first, and possibly, retaliations, later. A proportional retaliatory measure will take shape in the form of a surcharge on goods and services from the targeted countries, or suspension of intellectual property rights.

Brasília will try again to enact a negotiated solution even though it tried before with no success. Notwithstanding, the decision to retaliate depends mostly on the federal government.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article please visit the link:

https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2022/01/28/brasil-ganha-arsenal-para-elevar-pressao-sobre-india-e-indonesia.ghtml

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