Rio, November 22, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Sérgio Amaral, speaking at the Latin American Business Summit, declared that what is important for the region is to achieve a balance in trade negotiations and results. He said that from Brazil's point of view, there was not a priority in negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas rather than at the World Trade Organization or with the European Union. "The goal is to increase our exports and that makes all negotiating tables important," he declared.

Amaral pointed out that bilateral and regional talks move faster than multilateral ones, pointing to the example of the EU, where it has been decided that changes in farm policy will take place only in 2007. Can we negotiate farm produce agreements at the WTO under those circumstances? asked Amaral. (AB)