PointofView
LUÍSHENRIQUEBARBOSADASILVA
Brazilian Agricultural Attaché at theWorld TradeOrganization, in Switzerland
Defending
theright thing
Strategicforfoodsafety,theCountryisattractingglobalrespect
fortheethicalpostureinagriculturalquestionsattheWTO
I
f problems like corruption and violence
tarnish the image of Brazil around the
globe, in agribusiness things are quite
different. With a productive efficiency
acknowledgedby the globalmarket and
acting with transparency before the World
Trade Organization (WTO), the Country has
conquered admiration from the big players
around the planet, with positions respect-
ed in all questions that involve international
agricultural products. This is the opinion ex-
pressedby theBrazilianAgricultural Attaché
at theWTO, Luís Henrique Barbosa da Silva.
Residing in Geneva since 2015, Barbo-
sa is responsible for providing the Brazilian
mission at the WTOwith data, statistics and
reports that defend the Brazilian interests
before inadequate postures of other coun-
tries involving agribusiness. “Nowadays, all
major problems are related to exaggerated
subsidies offered by some countries, which
make competition unfair”, he explains. “De-
veloping countries arenot able tokeeppace
with these benefits. And, therefore, a soy-
bean farmer in the interior of Mato Gros-
so will not compete with a North-American
soybean farmer, but with the North-Ameri-
cantreasury.Thisrepresentsanunfairfight”.
According to the Attaché, all major Bra-
zilian agricultural products face problems in
the internationalmarketplace. “Meat, sugar,
soybean and corn are just some examples.
In the case of sugar, in 2016 China started a
lawsuit in an attempt to safeguard the im-
portation of sugar, in a market that involves
US$ 700 million”, he says. “This causes an
Inor Ag. Assmann
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