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Brazil launched a last-minute intervention at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit on Sunday, pushing high-stakes negotiations deep into the night.
The South American country stopped a key proposal on e-commerce, which effectively brought the reform talks to a halt, to protest a lack of progress in agricultural trade.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira stated that agriculture has seen the least advancement in the WTO’s 30-year history, asserting that his delegation would no longer accept the continued stalemate on the issue.
The 166-member body had been struggling to finalise a deal in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, before the scheduled midday conclusion.
While negotiators had previously reached a tentative compromise to extend a moratorium on e-commerce customs duties, Brazil’s sudden objection created a new deadlock.
The moratorium, which prevents taxes on digital transmissions, is a high priority for developed nations but has faced resistance from developing countries concerned about losing future tax revenue.
These late-night tensions underscore the massive hurdles facing the WTO as it attempts to modernise its rules amid rising global protectionism and the economic strain of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Although a draft declaration exists that calls for “urgent” institutional reforms, the organisation’s requirement for total consensus means that Brazil’s stand could derail the entire summit.
Negotiators are now racing against a looming deadline to settle before the ministerial meeting officially expires.
