Brazil’s position in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Negotiation Process

This briefing analyzes Brazil's strategic position and challenges within the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations as of February 2004. It details the friction between Brazil and the United States over agricultural subsidies, non-tariff barriers, and the 'Singapore issues,' while examining how the US strategy of bilateral agreements and the outcomes of the WTO Cancun summit have influenced the shift toward a more flexible 'ALCA-lite' framework.

• The FTAA negotiation process has been characterized by a fundamental conflict between the US and Brazil. Brazil has sought to remove investment, intellectual property, and services from the agenda because the US refused to negotiate antidumping measures and agricultural subsidies.
• Brazil and Argentina face higher potential economic impacts from the FTAA than other Latin American countries because they lack existing preferential access to the US market. In 2001, the US accounted for 25% of Brazil's exports and 10.8% of Argentina's exports.
• Brazil opposes the US approach of providing differential tariff offers to smaller economies, instead advocating for the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle across the region.
• Brazil resists the inclusion of 'Singapore issues'—specifically investment and intellectual property—due to fears that such legislation would harm its domestic software and generic pharmaceutical drug sectors, as well as government industrial policy.
• The failure of the WTO Cancun summit led the US to accelerate bilateral trade agreements with various Latin American countries, such as the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and an agreement with Chile, which Brazil views as a threat of isolation.
• The FTAA framework has shifted toward a 'flexible' or 'ALCA-lite' model. This involves a light 'built-in' agenda of common rules, supplemented by voluntary 'plurilateral' agreements, with sensitive issues deferred to the WTO level.
• There is internal division within the Brazilian government regarding the FTAA. While the Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) is seen as opposing the agreement, the Agriculture Ministry and industrial organizations like FIESP and CIN have criticized this rigid stance, preferring to trade concessions on services and investment for US agricultural concessions.

APA

Zourabishvili, A. (2004). Brazil’s position in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Negotiation Process. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tpb5.pdf

Chicago

Zourabishvili, Alexandre. Brazil’s position in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Negotiation Process. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2004. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tpb5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zourabishvili |first1=Alexandre |title=Brazil’s position in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Negotiation Process |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2004 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tpb5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zourabishvili2004brazils, author = {Zourabishvili, Alexandre}, title = {{Brazil’s position in the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas Negotiation Process}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2004}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tpb5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }