Brazil and China reach WTO agreement on sugar imports

Photo: Cultivo de Caña de azúcar By: Ministerio de Agricultura Source: Flickr

Brazil and China reached an understanding regarding sugar safeguard consultations initiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil initiated a complaint in 2018 at the WTO challenging China’s “safeguard” measure on imported sugar, its tariff quota administration, and its “automatic import licensing” system for extra-quota sugar. 

In a joint note, the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs communicated that the two counties reached an understanding without the need to open a panel (a kind of trial) at the WTO, although they did not provide further details of the agreement. The published text states that under the terms of the understanding reached, the concerns that underpinned the Brazilian request for consultations should be addressed in a mutually satisfactory manner, without the need to establish a WTO panel to examine the matter. 

Lead story:

Vital, A. (2021). Brasil e China chegam a acordo na OMC sobre importação de açúcar. En: JornalCana. 

Additional sources:

America Economía (2018). OMC: Brasil lanza disputa comercial contra China por restricciones al azúcar.