Vitor Abdala
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Cotonou (Benin) - The agreement announced yesterday (9) by the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade to reduce Brazilian imports of Chinese textile products may serve as an example for new agreements in other sectors involving trade between the two countries.

This affirmation was made by minister Luiz Fernando Furlan, who is accompanying president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his trip to Africa. According to Furlan, the agreement establishes a precedent for negotiations involving other sectors, such as shoes and toys, avoiding the need to adopt safeguard measures.

"This agreement represents a negotiated and amicable solution ending a dispute and setting a good example for other sectors. Our pledge to the Chinese is always to seek the path of negotiations before applying a measure justified by the safeguards," Furlan commented.

The agreement provides for limiting Chinese textile exports to Brazil in eight product categories, covering more or less 70 items, which account for 60% of Brazil's textile imports from China.

Translation: David Silberstein