Doha: When it comes to trade, the US administration is "very uncertain and changes" its decision all the time, with the Trump tariffs "compromising a multilateral
trading system that has served us so well," said Carlos Marcio Cozendey, the Brazilian Secretary for Multilateral Political Affairs. Currently, only two countries face 50 percent tariffs on its goods entering the United States of America: Brazil and India. Speaking with TIMES NOW at the Doha Forum, Cozendey said: "Of course, it is not a good situation as it is compromises a multilateral trading system that has served us so well, but we cannot but react to that if one major and important trading partner decides to go out of the rules." It was important to be "calm," he said, pointing out that the U.S. administration remains "uncertain" and changes its decisions a lot. "You can't react to everything that happens. Not all countries can do that. Brazil and India are able to do that. That's what we have been doing." Some of the problems are being "resolved naturally," he added. The products being imported by the USA "are important to US consumers. When the prices went up, there was a need to partly withdraw the tariffs...we continue to negotiate," he said.
Asked about the BRICS-- Brazil hosted the summit this year and India will do so next year-- he said "there is space for cooperation and there is a need to take advantage of it. "During the Brazilian presidency, we were incorporating the new BRICS members, the new partners and we expect that India will now take the fruits of that effort." Brazil and India apart, Russia, China and South Africa are the original members.
Brazil hosted the COP summit this year, in Belem, in the Amazon region. Referring to this effort to fight climate change, he said that "big commitments have already been made and now, it is time to start the implementation." He spoke of the involvement of not only countries, but also, civil society, companies and academia. Of course, resources are necessary, but technology and new innovations are also important, he said, pointing out that Brazil has launched a fund for tropical forests.
Meanwhile, the Lula government's efforts to save the Amazon with strong efforts to curb deforestation are continuing, Cozendey said. "We believe this is a consistent policy. We started coordination among various internal bodies responsible...the results were evident. There is no reason why it shouldn't continue." He felt that after a big success, it is difficult to continue at the same speed, but the objective to eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030 remains.
With President Luiz Lula da Silva of Brazil and Prime Minister being friends, "the possibility of cooperation in many different areas like investment, trade, defence industry remains. There is nothing coming in the way of Brazil-India cooperation," he added. And the "good, technical cooperation can extend in the area of sports," he said, with a smile. Brazil, five time world champions, could help India in football and "maybe someone will start learning about cricket in Brazil."
