Brazil to focus on int’l trade at G20 summit

Brazil is to prioritize topics related to international trade and climate change at the G20 Leaders’ Summit from November 30 to December 1, in Buenos Aires. The Brazilian delegation will be led by President Michel Temer.

Luiz Cesar Gasser, director of Financial Affairs and Services with the Foreign Ministry, said the crisis facing international commerce, the commitments in the Paris Agreement on climate change and the discussion on the future of labor will be among the main issues to be debated by Brazil at the meeting.

“International trade is a topic of concern to the Brazilian government. It’s a matter of the utmost importance. Brazil will play an active role when it comes to seeking a solution to the commercial crisis facing the world, and whether or not the World Trade Organization must be reformed,” Gasser declared.

Late in October, during a ministerial meeting of WTO group for strengthening and modernization in Canada, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira warned about the risks of bringing the work of the conflict resolution agency to an end. Brazil was one of the 12 nations invited by Canada to discuss the future of the WTO.

Delays

Since last year, the US has been reluctant in granting permission for the appointment of new judges for the WTO Appellate Body, made up of seven members. As it stands today, the court has only four judges, which can delay the settlement of commercial disputes among countries.

G20—a bloc formed by the world’s top 20 economies—plays a crucial role for Brazil as it is an international governance forum particularly relevant in today’s global landscape, where multilateralism has been brought into question, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry argued.