Brazil Foreign Ministry to forego special treatment at WTO
The Brazilian government will start foregoing the special and differential treatment (SDT) dispensed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in negotiations. The move, however, does not imply “any change or reduction in the current flexibility regarding certain rules in deals with the WTO in effect,” said the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations.
In a note released Monday (Apr. 1), the ministry reports that the talks were announced during the meeting between Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and US President Donald Trump, in Washington, on March 19.
“The scope of SDT measures, and the fact that some of them are effective for just a period of time show that the SDT is dynamic and progressive,” the text reads.
The so-called flexibility, the note goes on, comes as a result of “extensive negotiations in the past, and will not be reconsidered,” and may change depending on agreements and the degree of development of groups of countries.
Deals
The note lists examples, like the Agreement on Safeguards, under which developing countries are exempt from safeguards introduced by trade partners according to the level of exports.
It also names the Agriculture Agreement, whereby a group of developing countries are submitted to a higher percentage of domestic support in their production, exempt from reduction commitments.
The text also mentions the Trips Agreement, on intellectual property, which allows developing countries to have an additional term (already ended) for the implementation of commitments now effective in all WTO member countries.
Under the Facilitated Trade Agreement, in turn, WTO countries were able to associate the fulfillment of obligations with deadlines and the technical assistance received. These benefits and all other benefits included in the deals currently in force have been fully preserved.
