Yara Aquino
Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília - Brazilian exports of concentrated orange juice to the United States are worth around US$1.5 billion annually. The country exports 12% to 15% of its total production to the US.

Now the US Department of Commerce has officially accused Brazil of dumping - selling its concentrated orange juice in the US at a price below that on the Brazilian domestic market.

The president of the Orange Exporters Association (Associação Brasileira dos Exportadores de Cítricos) (Abecitrus), Ademerval Garcia, denies the charge and points out that US legislation on dumping does not comply with World Trade Organization norms.

Since August 2005, the US has levied an "anti-dumping" surtax on Brazil's concentrated orange juice of 24% to 60%. According to Garcia, that raises the price to the point where American consumers stop buying orange juice and move to other juices. "The surtax is harmful to the market," says the Abecitrus president.

The case against Brazil's concentrated orange juice will go to a final judgement in February. If the Department of Commerce wins, the surtaxes will continue. Otherwise, they will be removed.

Translation: Allen Bennett