Temer urges China to abolish surtax on some Brazil goods
President Michel Temer today (Jul. 26) asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to abolish the surtaxes imposed by China on Brazil’s sugar and chicken exports. The statement was made by Temer after he met with Xi Jinping in Johannesburg, where the 10th Brics Summit Meeting was held with member states Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
“We asked [Xi Jinping] to set aside, so to speak, the surtaxes on chicken and sugar, so we could increase our exports,” the Brazilian president said after the meeting.
In the meeting, Temer also offered the Chinese leader soy-derived products. The proposal, Temer said, was welcomed by Xi Jinping, who is now expected to consider technical issues.
Soybeans
“We know we export a lot of soy to China, but they’re soybeans. What we want is—and I reiterated that with Xi Jinping—to send processed goods, i.e. soybean oil and meal, which, of course, makes room for industrialization in our country, and it was well regarded by him, I don’t think he was reluctant,” he explained.
In addition to commercial exchange in agriculture, Temer also mentioned that concessions and privatization moves in Brazil were discussed in the meeting, along with Chinese investment in infrastructure works in railways, ports, airports, transmission lines, and energy distributors. “[Xi Jinping] said he will make a great contribution and invest a great deal,” the president said.
On Twitter, Temer wrote he talked to Xi Jinping about the establishment of the regional office for the Americas of the New Brics Development Bank in São Paulo, also with an office in Brasília. The deal for the creation of the bank will be signed at the Brics summit meeting.
Michel Temer also attended a closed-doors plenary session with other Brics heads of state. “There was significant agreement among us regarding the importance of honoring a multilateral commercial system on rules, with the World Trade Organization at its center,” Temer wrote on his Twitter page.
