[CTC] Democratic-led U.S. House panel opposes any U.S. trade deal with Brazil

Thu Jun 4 10:35:02 PDT 2020

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-brazil/u-s-house-panel-says-opposes-any-u-s-trade-deal-with-brazil-idUSKBN23A37N?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-brazil/u-s-house-panel-says-opposes-any-u-s-trade-deal-with-brazil-idUSKBN23A37N?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews>

Democratic-led U.S. House panel opposes any U.S. trade deal with Brazil
06/03/2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee said on Wednesday it opposed the Trump administration’s plan to expand economic ties with Brazil given its record on human rights and the environment under President Jair Bolsonaro.

Committee Chairman Richard Neal and his fellow Democrats on the panel told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a letter that Bolsonaro’s government had shown a “complete disregard for basic human rights.”

“We strongly oppose pursuing any type of trade agreement with the Bolsonaro government in Brazil. Enhancing the U.S.-Brazilian economic relationship at this time would undermine the efforts of Brazilian human, labor, and environmental rights advocates to advance the rule of law and protect and preserve marginalized communities,” they wrote.

U.S. and Brazilian trade officials agreed last month to accelerate talks aimed at concluding an agreement on trade rules and transparency this year, including trade facilitation and “good regulatory practices.”

But Democrats on the committee said Bolsonaro’s government could not credibly be prepared to assume new standards for worker rights and environmental protections established in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, given its own poor record on human rights and other key issues.

Representative Kevin Brady, the ranking Republican on the committee, told reporters he was unaware of the letter.

Instead of pursuing a trade agreement with Brazil, the Democratic lawmakers said Lighthizer should step up enforcement of U.S. laws and raise concerns about Brazil’s unfair trade practices with the Brazilian government.

U.S. President Donald Trump has developed a close relationship Bolsonaro, a right-wing former army captain. The White House last week said the United States had supplied Brazil with 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for use against the coronavirus, despite medical warnings about risks associated with the anti-malaria drug.

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https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ways-and-means-democrats-strongly-oppose-expanding-economic-relations
WAYS AND MEANS DEMOCRATS STRONGLY OPPOSE EXPANDING ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH PRESIDENT BOLSONARO’S BRAZIL
Jun 3, 2020  Press Release 
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Committee Democrats expressed their opposition to the Trump Administration’s intent to pursue an expanded economic partnership with Brazil under the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro. In a letter <https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/20200603_WM%20Dem%20Ltr%20to%20Amb%20Lighthizer%20re%20Brazil.pdf> to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the lawmakers detailed the litany of reasons why it is inappropriate for the Administration to engage in economic partnership discussions of any scope with the Bolsonaro government in Brazil, which has dismantled years of civil, human, environmental, and labor rights progress in the nation since 2018.

“Through reprehensible rhetoric and actions, the Bolsonaro government in Brazil has demonstrated its complete disregard for basic human rights, the need to protect the Amazon rainforest, the rights and dignity of workers, and a record of anticompetitive economic practices. In addition to being worthy of condemnation in their own right, these positions and actions demonstrate that Brazil under Bolsonaro could not credibly be prepared to assume the new standards for worker rights and environmental protections established in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” wrote Ways & Means Democrats.

“We strongly oppose pursuing any type of trade agreement with the Bolsonaro government in Brazil. Enhancing the U.S.-Brazilian economic relationship at this time would undermine the efforts of Brazilian human, labor, and environmental rights advocates to advance the rule of law and protect and preserve marginalized communities,” concluded the lawmakers. “Instead, we urge you to aggressively address these issues by using U.S. enforcement tools and by raising them with your Brazilian counterparts through other, more appropriate, channels.”

In addition to Chairman Neal, Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with Representatives John Lewis (D-GA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Mike Thompson (D-CA) , John B. Larson (D-CT), Ron Kind (D-WI), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Bradley S. Schneider (D-IL), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Steven Horsford (D-NV) signed on to the letter.

The full text of the letter is available HERE <https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/20200603_WM%20Dem%20Ltr%20to%20Amb%20Lighthizer%20re%20Brazil.pdf>.

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Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

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