7 - Brazil

Summary

Trade-distorting domestic support for agricultural products is among the most contentious issues in the Doha Round. It is not a stretch to assert that disciplining domestic support became the central shared offensive interest among developing countries; it acted as the glue that kept the G20 an active coalition in the negotiations. Although there is a consensus that domestic support disciplines must be strengthened, the concrete implications in terms of commitments and the allocation of subsidies among the various boxes remain controversial. The issue of disciplining domestic support is broader than the Doha Round because it also involves other spheres of the WTO, such as the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) and the work of the Committee on Agriculture.

The agricultural sector is like no other sector of the Brazilian economy. It is at the heart of political attention because farm productivity has recently increased markedly due to technological modernization. Brazil has grown, in only a few years, to become among the top agricultural exporters. Consequently, trade liberalization is a key issue of importance for the sustainability of Brazilian agriculture. Constraining domestic support among its competitors and trade partners, together with gaining improved market access conditions, are critical to Brazilian agriculture's future. Stronger disciplines and tighter commitments, along with transparency, are goals of Brazil in the multilateral negotiations. Brazil has also emerged in recent years as a major player seeking to strengthen the disciplines for trade-distorting domestic support through the WTO legal system.