Senior trade officials from the United States and Brazil clashed Sunday over a US-EU proposal for fewer tariffs and trade barriers on environmentally-friendly goods and services. Celso Amorim, Brazil's minister of foreign relations, said there was "no agreement" on the proposal when it was discussed at a trade ministers meeting on the sidelines of a key climate summit on Indonesia's island of Bali. The European Union and United States proposed last week that all 151 World Trade Organisation members cut tariffs on at least 43 types of environmentally-friendly goods and services in order to boost their use. "I think this list is incomplete, it won't do much for climate change," said Amorim, adding that the impact the items on the list would have on climate change was "not conclusive". "There's certainly disagreement here, but that should not prevent us from negotiation," he added.
Brazil has protested the exclusion of ethanol -- one of its main exports and a product being touted as a key biofuel -- from the list. But in a statement released to coincide with the meeting, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab described the move as "ground-breaking" and "innovative". "WTO members have the opportunity to take bold, ambitious action now to use trade tools, such as tariff reductions on clean technologies, to advance clean energy and climate change mitigation objectives," she said. She told reporters that discussions over the proposal -- which would include technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and hydro-fuel cells -- were still ongoing. Attempting to mediate at the press conference, Indonesia's trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu said there had been "a good airing of the opinions (and) suggestions" during the meeting. "This is exactly why there needs to be more knowledge," she said.
"We have to do more work in terms of having a clearer definition of how the measures... impact on each other, and whether concentrating on environmental goods and services is enough." Brazil has been developing ethanol as a fuel substitute since the oil crises of the 1970s and is now the top exporter of the biomass alcohol and the second-biggest producer after the United States. Biofuel is controversial, however, with some environmental campaigners saying the use of arable land for biofuel production threatens food supplies, wildlife and forests.
Trade ministers and representatives on Sunday concluded their meeting on the sidelines of the UN climate summit, while global finance ministry representatives are arriving in Bali for similar talks on Monday. Delegates from more than 180 countries are currently hammering out a timeframe for a new deal on tackling climate change when the current phase of the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.
Brazil has protested the exclusion of ethanol -- one of its main exports and a product being touted as a key biofuel -- from the list. But in a statement released to coincide with the meeting, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab described the move as "ground-breaking" and "innovative". "WTO members have the opportunity to take bold, ambitious action now to use trade tools, such as tariff reductions on clean technologies, to advance clean energy and climate change mitigation objectives," she said. She told reporters that discussions over the proposal -- which would include technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and hydro-fuel cells -- were still ongoing. Attempting to mediate at the press conference, Indonesia's trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu said there had been "a good airing of the opinions (and) suggestions" during the meeting. "This is exactly why there needs to be more knowledge," she said.
"We have to do more work in terms of having a clearer definition of how the measures... impact on each other, and whether concentrating on environmental goods and services is enough." Brazil has been developing ethanol as a fuel substitute since the oil crises of the 1970s and is now the top exporter of the biomass alcohol and the second-biggest producer after the United States. Biofuel is controversial, however, with some environmental campaigners saying the use of arable land for biofuel production threatens food supplies, wildlife and forests.
Trade ministers and representatives on Sunday concluded their meeting on the sidelines of the UN climate summit, while global finance ministry representatives are arriving in Bali for similar talks on Monday. Delegates from more than 180 countries are currently hammering out a timeframe for a new deal on tackling climate change when the current phase of the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.
Via: AFP
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