An agreement on sugar tariffs will prevent a panel in the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would be established by Brazil against China and allow Brazilian exports to the Chinese again to be expressive, according the Ministry of Agriculture and the main association of companies in the sector, Unica. Brazil and China reached an understanding in the consultations held in the context of WTO litigation that questioned Chinese safeguards in the form of surcharges on imports, according to a statement. For the Sugarcane Industry Union (Unica), the Chinese commitment not to renew its safeguard policy, as of May of next year, was an important achievement for Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of sweetener. Until the beginning of the safeguard, China was the largest market in Brazil, with Brazilian exports exceeding 2.5 million tons per crop year, Unica said. In 2017/2018, with the policy in force and bilateral relations shaken by the WTO process, the volume dropped to only 115K tons. In 2018/2019, according to Unica, Brazil shipped 890K tons to China, volumes that are expected to grow in the face of the agreement, said Unica, which represents the plants in south-central Brazil. China establishes an annual import quota of 1.95 million tons of sugar at the 15% tariff, while extra-quota volumes until 2017 had a 50% tribute. With the safeguard, which will not be renewed from next year, according to the agreement, extra-cost volumes will now be taxed at 95%, according to the Single. Eduardo Leão, the executive director of Única, said that under the agreement, Brazil could also collaborate with the Chinese in actions to increase the share of biofuels in the energy matrix, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving quality the air of big cities.
Source: Estadão