WTO agreement increases Brazilian exports to the European Union in about R$ 250 million a year – July 14, 2016

It was made public today in Geneva the agreement signed on July 12 that concluded negotiations with the European Union for the compensations to Brazil due to the accession of Croatia to that bloc. After three years of negotiations, conducted in close coordination with the Brazilian private sector, the quotas with reduced import tariffs for sugar and poultry meats will increase, which will raise Brazilian exports to the European Union in about R$250 million per year. The result will be incorporated into the lists of commitments by the EU within the WTO and cannot be changed without further negotiations.

In the sugar-alcohol sector, besides the expansion of the existing tariff quota for sugar at 114 thousand tons per year, for seven years lower intraquota rates than those in force for the currently existing share will be applied. Under the WTO rules, the amounts are negotiated on the basis of previous exports from Brazil to Croatia, which were affected by an increase in import tariffs as a result of the application of EU tariff for Croatia from its accession to the bloc. Brazil believes that these new understandings will be implemented shortly, allowing Brazilian producers to benefit from them as from the beginning of the second semester of 2016.