USTR hearing is a one-sided investigation, says former ambassador

The second day of the public hearing promoted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) began this Tuesday (7), bringing together representatives from the productive sector and the American government to debate the 25% tariffs imposed on Brazilian products.

Former ambassador Rubens Barbosa assessed the scenario with skepticism, classifying the process as a unilateral investigation by the American government.

"I'm not very optimistic about the result"
Rubens Barbosa was categorical in stating that the process is not a negotiation between the Brazilian and American governments.

"This is a unilateral investigation by the American government that began last year," he declared.

According to him, all the technical and political arguments in defense of Brazilian products had already been presented in a similar session held the previous year and were not taken into consideration, resulting in the announcement of the 25% tariff.

Barbosa also warned of the existence of a second investigation, related to products imported from countries with slave labor, which could add another 12.5% to the tariffs already announced, reaching a total of 37.5%.

He highlighted that the current hearing involves more than 70 countries and is not a measure aimed exclusively at Brazil.

"This is not against Brazil, this is against the whole world", he stated.

Legal basis for tariffs already decided
In Barbosa's assessment, the ongoing investigation has a clear objective: to replace a previous tariff that was overturned by the American Supreme Court with a new tariff with legal support.

"This investigation has one objective: to replace a tariff that was struck down by the Supreme Court with another legal tariff that cannot be challenged," he explained.

For this reason, some European countries chose not to send representatives to the hearing, as they understand that the result has already been defined in advance.

Despite general pessimism, Barbosa did not completely rule out the possibility of specific exceptions for some products, such as instant coffee, if Brazilian companies manage to demonstrate a negative impact on American consumers or companies.

However, he highlighted that such concessions would be "very limited" and would not significantly alter the picture of Brazilian exports, which have already fallen to less than 10% of Brazil's total exports to the world.

Participation of Flávio Bolsonaro and letter from Itamaraty
When asked about Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's participation in the second day of hearings, Barbosa was direct: "I don't think it will have any effect."

For him, the presentation is aimed at the Brazilian domestic public and will serve to refute accusations that the Bolsonaro family was behind the tariffs.

"He will speak for five minutes, he will leave a document there, which will be used here to defend himself against the accusations", he said.

Barbosa also commented on the letter sent by Itamaraty to the Chamber of Deputies, in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of possible implications - including military ones - arising from the classification of organizations such as Comando Vermelho and the PCC as terrorists by the United States.

The former ambassador considered any American military action in Brazilian territory unlikely, comparing the situation with the case of Mexico, where no intervention took place despite ten organizations having been classified as terrorist.

"In the case of Brazil, I personally think that it is unlikely that any military action will be taken against the PCC or the Red Command on national territory", he stated.

For Barbosa, the tone of the letter reflects the position of the Brazilian government, influenced by "ideological assumptions" and the internal political context on the eve of the elections.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN