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

The document examines Brazil's role in the FTAA negotiations, highlighting the tension between Brazil's desire for agricultural market access and the US's push for the inclusion of 'Singapore issues' such as investment and intellectual property. It details Brazil's efforts to protect sensitive industrial sectors and its strategic use of Mercosur to avoid isolation as the US pursues bilateral agreements with other Latin American nations. The analysis concludes that the FTAA is shifting toward a flexible 'ALCA-lite' framework with a limited built-in agenda.

• The FTAA negotiation process has been characterized by significant conflict between the US and Brazil, leading to a shift toward a more flexible framework with a limited 'built-in' agenda.
• Brazil opposes the inclusion of 'Singapore issues'—specifically investment and intellectual property—in the FTAA because it fears these would jeopardize its industrial policy and threaten its generic pharmaceutical and software sectors.
• Brazil and other Latin American countries seek the removal of US tariff peaks on sensitive products like sugar and orange juice, while Brazil resists broad tariff liberalization to protect its own domestic market.
• To counter US pressure and the risk of isolation caused by US bilateral agreements with other Latin American states, Brazil proposed a '4+1' (Mercosur-US) scheme to focus negotiations on market access for goods.
• Brazil's internal stance on the FTAA is divided; while the Foreign Ministry is viewed as opposed to the agreement, the Agriculture Ministry and industry organizations like FIESP and CIN seek concessions on investment and services to secure US agricultural market access.
• The failure of the WTO Cancun summit encouraged the US to accelerate bilateral trade talks with Latin American countries, such as the CAFTA agreement with Central American nations, which are more open to 'Singapore issues' due to a lack of substantial business interests to protect.

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} }