Ways and Means Democrats Oppose Brazil Trade Talks
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are telling the administration that there's a “litany of reasons why we consider it inappropriate for the Administration to engage in economic partnership discussions of any scope with a Brazilian leader who disregards the rule of law and is actively dismantling hard-fought progress on civil, human, environmental, and labor rights.”
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The trade talks with Brazil are limited to regulatory harmonization or trade facilitation, because Brazil has no ability to lower its tariffs without the consent of the other Mercosur countries. But the June 3 letter looks forward to a more traditional trade agreement, and argues that there is little export upside for the U.S. “So many Brazilian agriculture exports are already very competitive in the U.S. market, without the advantages of a tariff eliminating trade agreement. Furthermore, Brazilian agricultural producers have a history of employing unfair trade practices, including in the seasonal produce sector where U.S. trade laws and trade agreements provide U.S. producers very limited recourse.”