Say “Adios” to Obama’s “National Export Initiative”

James M. Roberts / March 25, 2010

The latest outbreak of creeping global protectionism is in Brazil, which announced March 8 that it intends to levy nearly USD$600 million in increased import duties on more than 100 products made in the U.S. in retaliation for the United States’ failure to comply with a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against its subsidies for cotton producers and exporters.

According to “World Trade\INTERACTIVE,” the Brazilian government also plans to impose the first-ever WTO-legal cross-retaliation measures on U.S. intellectual property rights holders that could lead to more than USD$200 million in losses for U.S. companies in the pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biotechnology, and entertainment sectors.  To avoid the sanctions, the U.S. Government must settle the WTO case with Brazil before April 7. (more…)