Brazil calls for review of trade barriers in agribusiness and criticizes subsidies during pandemic

Last Tuesday (21/04) Tereza Cristina of Brazil’s agriculture, livestock and supply ministry participated in a video conference with agriculture ministers from the G20 countries to discuss the impact of the Coronavirus on the sector. The event, held by videoconference, warned of the need to review unjustifiable trade barriers and subsidies that reward inefficiency and may affect the supply of some countries.

“COVID-19 offers us the opportunity to rethink our collective behavior. We will win the fight against COVID-19 together and emerge from it with a mentality to finally achieve stable global food security and decent livelihoods for all of humanity,” said the minister. Brazil’s position was convergent with that of other countries such as the United States, China, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. The G20 videoconference aimed to improve global cooperation and ensure the flow of agricultural products to protect global food security and nutrition during the pandemic.

According to Tereza Cristina, trade barriers should not be raised only when a calamity occurs, whenever it is convenient to combat the fear of food shortages. “Are we going to abandon rhetoric, taking effective measures to really improve the livelihood of the most vulnerable? Or will we fall into the trap of using the pandemic as an excuse to keep the parochial interests rooted, through the perpetuation of protectionism?,” said the minister. The minister also criticized the use of subsidies at this time of the crisis, as they end up creating unfair competition for developing countries and affecting living conditions in the countryside. “Fair agricultural trade would allow better conditions to spread in rural areas, where most of the world’s poverty is concentrated.”

The G20 group said, “We agree that emergency measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic must be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, and that they do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruptions in global food supply chains and consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) ”.  The virtual meeting was attended by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo, and the Director-General of the United Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO), Qu Dongyu.

Sharing is caring!