Renata Giraldi       Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – Although commercial relations between Brazil and the United States have had a tumultuous history and often wind up before dispute panels at the World Trade Organization, there is an interesting agreement that the two nations have worked out that will be made public during this week’s visit to the US by Dilma Rousseff.

The United States will recognize Cachaça, which is Brazil’s most popular alcoholic beverage, as “a distinct product of Brazil.” On the other hand, Brazil will recognize Tennessee Whisky and Bourbon as “distinct products of the United States.”

The “distinct product” label is a valuable commercial tool for exporters as it provides some protection from similar products from other countries. And it gives consumers, at least those consumers interested enough to want to know, important information about what they are buying.

Brazil produces some 1.5 billion liters of Cachaça annually (390 million gallons). Cachaça is always distilled directly from fresh sugarcane, whereas its beverage cousin, Rum, is made from molasses, which consists of concentrated sugar crystals extracted from sugarcane juice. As a result, much to the distaste of Brazilians, Cachaça is sometimes called “Brazilian Rum.”

Most Cachaça is brewed in small, artisanal stills in rural areas outside urban centers. Suffice it to say that there are 5,000 brands of Cachaça made in Brazil by 30,000 producers and as a result it is known by various names, such as “aguardente,” (literally, firewater) “caninha,” and “pinga.” One of Cachaça’s characteristics is a high level of alcohol, usually above 35%, but which can vary widely according to the whim of the local producer.

Another piece of good news on the commercial front is that the longstanding, on again, off again, dispute over Brazilian orange juice access to the US market, after a WTO ruling that US trade barriers were inappropriate, has been resolved for the moment.

Dilma and Obama will also negotiate agreements on aviation and communications, pork (the US now imports pork from the state of Santa Catarina and Brazil seeks to have more states on the approved list) and certain provisions in the US Farm Bill that are seen as detrimental to Brazilian farm export interests.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English - content modified

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