US Removes Brazil from The List of Developing Nations

Main American goal is to impact China, which also presents itself at the WTO as a developing country

Washington

Donald Trump’s government published on Monday (10) a rule that removes Brazil from the list of nations considered to be developing, and that gave the country certain trade privileges.

In addition to Brazil, 18 other countries were affected, such as Argentina, India, and Colombia, which can now be targeted by the USA if it proves that they subsidize products above a specified ceiling, for example.

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -/File Photo ORG XMIT: FW1 - REUTERS

The main objective of the Trump administration, according to a note, is to reduce the number of developing countries that could receive special treatment without being affected by barriers against their products.

The American government mainly wants to impact China, an Asian powerhouse with which he has been fighting a trade war for years and which also presents itself at the WTO (World Trade Organization) as a developing country.

Brazilian diplomats say the list only restricts the calculation of a compensatory measure for the investigation of subsidies, a change considered small, and that will not affect essential issues related to international trade. Also, according to them, the difference in the subsidy ceiling fell little, with variations of 1% to 2%. 

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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