Brasília, June 8, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - At the American Chamber of Commerce of Rio de Janeiro, the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rubens Recupero, called for multilateral negotiations within the scope of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a way to attain completely free trade, in fact, among nations.

According to Ricupero, the problem with the current proliferation of regional agreements is that they weaken the so-called "most-favored nation clause," which is the basis of the general trade agreement and prohibits discrimination with respect to the wealthy countries.

This clause determines that when two countries negotiate mutual reductions, the concessions be extended to all of the WTO's 146 member-countries, whereas in the case of regional agreements, the benefits are restricted to a smaller group of nations, the UNCTAD secretary-general explained.

Regarding Brazil, however, Ricupero indicated that agreements should be sought on all levels. "Brazil has to try every approach to increase trade, be it bilateral, regional, or multilateral, most of all by improving its competitive offering of products, without any type of bias, attempting to reach agreements that provide access to countries that still maintain barriers," he affirmed.

The Brazilian government and entrepreneurs should also explore new markets, such as India, to which sales are very limited, Ricupero observed. The UNCTAD calculates that trade between India and the Mercosur can increase sixteenfold, given its very modest level at present. Considering that the Indian economy is growing at an annual rate of approximately 6% and that the country should become the most populous on the planet for the next three centuries, the UNCTAD secretary-general views Brazil's and the Mercosur's prospects for expanding trade relations as quite favorable.

Cooperation between the Mercosur and India will be one of the main themes discussed tomorrow(9) during the Rio Trade Week, organized by the UNCTAD, at the headquarters of the BNDES in Rio de Janeiro.

Reporter: Alana Gandra
Translator: David Silberstein