Brazil’s agricultural global competitiveness and its impact on U.S. agricultural exports to third country markets will be the focus of a new study by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). At the request of the Senate Committee on Finance, USITC’s investigation, Brazil’s Agricultural Trade: Competitive Conditions and Effects on U.S. Export in Selected Third Country Markets, will analyze the reasons and factors that have lead to the substantial expansion over the past decade of Brazilian poultry, beef, pork, soybeans, and corn. The rapid growth in Brazilian exports of these commodities has “altered the competitive landscape in global agricultural markets,” USITC said. The following will be included in USITC’s final report :
- Overview of agricultural markets in Brazil, including recent trends in production, consumption, and trade;
- Overview of U.S. and Brazilian participation in global export markets for meat, grain, and oilseed products, particularly in the European Union, Russia, China, and Japan, and markets with which Brazil has negotiated trade agreements;
- Description of the competitive factors affecting the agricultural sector in Brazil, in such areas as costs of production, transportation and marketing infrastructure, technology, exchange rates, domestic support, and government programs related to agricultural markets;
- Description of the growth of Brazilian multinational agribusiness firms and their effects on global food supply chains;
- Description of the principal trade measures affecting U.S. and Brazilian exports of meat, grain, and oilseed products in major third-country export markets, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade; and
- Quantitative analysis of the economic effects of preferential tariffs negotiated under Brazil’s free trade agreements on U.S. and Brazilian exports of meat, grain, and oilseed products, as well as the economic effects of selected non-tariff measures on U.S. and Brazilian exports of meat, grain, and oilseed products in major third-country export markets.
USITC will hold a public hearing on July 20 in Washington, DC. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed with the Secretary, U.S International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. Written submissions (one original and 14 copies) for the public record should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission and should be submitted no later than October 6. More information about the study is available on the USITC Web site www.usitc.gov. The report is expected to be submitted to the Senate Finance Committee by March 26.
