Posted on 04/25/2003 8:55:07 AM PDT by madfly
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The United States wants to proceed rapidly with trade negotiations that could open the door for increased imports of Brazilian agricultural products such as orange juice and sugar, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said Wednesday.
"We are open for negotiations. Everything is on the table. So we're anxious to get those discussions under way," Snow said after visiting an Avon Products Inc. plant in Sao Paulo, the country's financial and industrial center.
Snow held two hours of talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the country's first elected leftist leader. He also met with Brazilian business leaders. He later extolled the frugal economic policy of Finance Minister Antonio Palocci and Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles.
His comments on lowering U.S. trade barriers on agricultural goods are designed to ease friction over a long-standing Brazilian gripe, that the country's agricultural giants face huge competition hurdles in the United States that unfairly favor their American counterparts.
The U.S. wants to form a Free Trade Area of the Americas that would stretch from Alaska to Argentina, but Brazilian officials say the trade obstacles for key agricultural products - sugar, orange juice, cotton and beef - must be eased to reach an accord.
Brazil, for example, is the world's top producer of oranges, followed by the United States.
Snow said the FTAA negotiations are a priority despite possible political ramifications for President Bush in Florida and California, the nation's top orange producers and key states for a Bush victory in next year's presidential election.
"We're anxious to move the FTAA as soon as we can, absolutely," Snow said after being asked if the U.S. is committed to serious negotiations before the election.
Snow also heaped praise on members of Silva's financial team for helping prevent the country from heading into an economic nose-dive after he took office.
After meeting with Silva, Snow heads to Ecuador and Colombia.
Importers and food cos. donate more money to the Republican party. Therefore, their economic interests are blessed, probably under the cover of some think tank economic "analysis".
Lots of dirty deals are done under the cover of the fog of war. Castro with his dissidents, Congress with the hyper-pork "war" spending bill.
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