Brazil socks it to the U.S. again, this time over orange juice

[rabs]

Obama was down there this week looking for U.S. oil companies to get their mitts on Brazil's massive pre-salt deposits. Dilma gave him a resounding "NAO."

Today the World Trade Organization ruled FOR BRAZIL in its dispute over orange juice imports from Brazil. Not a good week for Obama -- oh well, he did get to go to Rio's famed Corcovado.

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Associated Press
WTO SAYS US ILLEGALLY TAXES BRAZILIAN ORANGE JUICE

By JOHN HEILPRIN , 03.25.11, 02:53 PM EDT
GENEVA -- The World Trade Organization ruled Friday that the United States is illegally taxing about $2 billion a year of imported Brazilian frozen orange juice.

Brazil's victory comes after similar U.S. losses in trade disputes over how it applies its complex "zeroing" methodology - calculations that are used to determine how much to punish imports suspected of being "dumped" at unfairly low prices.

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of frozen orange juice, selling mainly to the European Union and the United States. It filed the complaint in 2008 saying the U.S. artificially inflates the dumping margins. The U.S. has lost similar WTO decisions.


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/25/business-eu-wto-brazil-us_8375418.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Wow, that's getting off to a running start for Dilma Rousseff, isn't it?

From the article:

The ruling means that some U.S. antidumping duties imposed on imports of orange juice from South America's largest nation violated international trade rules

There's also that long-standing dispute over US subsidies to cotton farmers which has screwed up international trade for that product.

Looks as if Dilma is confronting this problem directly. Good for her.

Yep, that had to be a downer for that trip, for sure. He probably had been encouraged to see Brazil as a sure thing.

That's a long trip to make just to take a good look at the city from Corcovado, isn't it?

[Bacchus39]

2. free trade with Brazil, now!!! n/t

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