Monique Maia
- Agência Brasil

Brasília – The European Union wants Brazil to accept them. After all, Brazil, as one of the biggest developing countries, could be a prime market for Europe's used tires. It has a large population and a big fleet of vehicles. And it prohibits the importation of used tires.

So, the EU has taken the issue to the World Trade Organization, where Brazil frequently complains about EU barriers against Brazilian farm produce imports [could there be trade-off here? Used tires for market access?]

There are two sides to everything. Adriana Ramos. from the NGO, Socio-Environment Institute (Instituto Sócio Ambiental) (ISA), finds the idea disgusting. "This is the worst form of colonialism. European countries trying to get us, force us, to accept products they don't need anymore." But deputy Ivo José (PT-MG) says the idea is not to turn Brazil into a junkyard. He points out that some "solid residues" (used tires fall into this import category) are nothing less than "strategic raw material" for Brazil (the deputy's category for used tires). He points out that they can often be used to make asphalt and other things. And as they are cheaper than new tires, they can be used by low-income drivers on their cheap cars.

Ms Ramos, at ISA, counterattacks deputy José's arguments by saying that the problem of used tires is more complex. After they are used (a second time) they are thrown away and wind up becoming excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit dengue and yellow fever and other bad things. Ramos cites a study by the Ministry of Health which did, in fact, find that discarded tires are a principal focus of the very bad Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

Translation: Allen Bennett