MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur a ‘priority’ almost a ‘sanctuary’ for Brazilian trade and diplomacy

Minister Patriota said Brazil is preparing in the event of impacts from the global situation

Brazil is reinforcing its diplomacy’s legal and trade departments in anticipation of a major impact from a possible global situation and in this context “Mercosur is a priority, almost a sanctuary” announced Monday the Foreign Affaire ministry.

“The crisis unfortunately has not reached its end” and the outlooks from all multilateral organizations indicate effects will be prolonged with a recession that can be expected to have “an inevitable impact” in world trade, said Foreign Affairs minister Antonio Patriota during a WTO seminar in Rio.

The administration of President Dilma Rousseff is “looking for new trade opportunities” with developing countries, with special emphasis in Mercosur and the “expanded South American space”, markets which are a “sanctuary that must be preserved”

Patriota stated that the global crisis, “has a negative incidence in trade negotiations currently been held in the framework of the World Trade Organization”, so it is recommendable “to explore new opportunities and use with full efficiency” the tools that WTO provides to solve disputes and controversies.

Therefore the Brazilian government plans to reinforce the training of its diplomats in two main fields, legal aspects of world trade; increase contacts with the private sector to implement an improved follow up of potentially conflicting areas and promote the role of embassies as trade promotion catapults.

The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations will create a special group involved in analyzing the evolution of trade with China, Brazil’s main trading partner, but with which there are specific controversial points such as the auto industry, among others.

Patriota added that the Brazilian government will reinforce its role as “trade promoter” spurring the participation of the private sector in world trade fairs, all of which clearly geared to sustain the growing presence of Brazil in the world economic stage.