Brazil Wins Cotton Case, Promotes Biofuels

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva began a trip to Africa Monday, just as Brazil gained a victory through a ruling in a World Trade Court (WTO) case disputing U.S. cotton subsidies. The WTO ruled that Washington had failed to sufficiently reform subsidies to American cotton farmers. The decision opens the door for Brazil to impose trade sanctions against the United States, the world’s second biggest exporter of cotton. Brazil ranks fifth and has led efforts to gain bargaining power in agricultural trade negotiations through the G20—a coalition of twenty developing nations.

Lula’s made the first stop in his latest Africa trip in Burkina Faso, which joined Brazil and other African cotton-producing countries to lobby against U.S. subsidies. Biofuels have served as the focus of a journey that continues through Congo Republic, South Africa, and Angola. Speaking in the Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou Monday, Lula invited African nations to “join the biofuel revolution."   He argued that through ethanol and biodiesel production, developing nations could “democratize access to sustainable energy” while having a positive impact on global warming. Yet some environmentalists warn the push for ethanol production could threaten the Amazon rainforest.

Biofuels have powered cars for three decades in Brazil, where sugar-based ethanol has emerged as a major fuel source. During an October roundtable discussion hosted by AS/COA, Brazilian governors discussed biofuel opportunities. A recent AS/COA hemispheric update takes a look at Brazil’s energy policy at home and abroad.