Brazil said on Monday it would raise tariffs on US$591 million worth of US products in the latest twist in its showdown over US cotton subsidies it has blasted as unfair.
The list of about 100 products included luxury consumer items such as cosmetics (shampoos, cologne, beauty creams), appliances (television sets, sound and kitchen equipment) and cars. Up to US$238 million in penalties may also be applied in the intellectual property and services sectors.
In a landmark decision, the WTO allowed Brazil to impose up to US$829.3 million in retaliatory sanctions against the US over unfair US cotton subsidies.
The US expressed regret at the Brazilian action, saying it preferred to resolve the issue through negotiations.
“We are disappointed to learn that Brazil’s authorities have decided to proceed with countermeasures against US trade in the WTO cotton dispute,” said Nefeterius McPherson, spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative (USTR).
“USTR is working to reach a solution to the issues in this dispute without Brazil resorting to countermeasures and we continue to prefer a negotiated solution,” she said.
US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was to travel to Brasilia yesterday, US embassy officials said, as the two countries remain engaged in negotiations to settle the dispute.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
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