Brazil expects the South American trade bloc Mercosur to speed up more free trade negotiations after clinching a deal with the European Union, as the threat of U.S. tariffs when Donald Trump takes office as president forces countries to diversify their options for exports, diplomats say.
EU deal and Trump tariff threats bolster Mercosur trade talks
Canadian potash mine in Amazon to proceed
The mine has sparked contention, with claims that it infringes on Indigenous rights in the region
Reuters – Canadian firm Brazil Potash Corp. will begin to build Latin America’s largest fertilizer mine in the Amazon rainforest this year after its project received an installation licence issued by the Amazonas state environmental protection agency (IPAAM), the company’s chief executive officer said April 9. Matt Simpson said the mine was not on officially recognized Indigenous land and the
Brazil court overturns suspension of Canadian potash mine
Issue centres around Indigenous land claims in the area
Reuters – A federal Brazilian appeals court has overturned an injunction suspending the licence for Canadian-owned firm Brazil Potash Corp. to build Latin America’s largest fertilizer mine in the Amazon rainforest. The Federal Regional Tribunal 1 ruled Oct. 17 that IPAAM, an Amazon state environmental agency, has the authority to issue the licence because there is no
Brazil justice grants Congress more time on bill limiting Indigenous rights
Case pits Indigenous against Big Ag
Brasilia | Reuters — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country’s Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass a measure favouring Big Agriculture. The decision by Justice Andre Mendonca, an Evangelical pastor
As Amazon burns, Bolsonaro tells rest of world not to interfere
Brasilia/Sao Paulo | Reuters — Amid growing international criticism over wildfires raging through the Amazon, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday admitted farmers could be illegally setting the rainforest alight but told foreign powers not to interfere. French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres both took to Twitter to express their
Brazil ag minister eyes indigenous land for commercial farming
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil should open indigenous land to commercial farming, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said on Friday, while also seeking to soften many of President Jair Bolsonaro’s controversial stances on native people and the environment. Farmers form a key base of support for right-wing firebrand Bolsonaro who since taking office Jan. 1
Brazil plans to fight invasions by landless workers
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil’s right-wing government under President Jair Bolsonaro will seek to classify invasions of farmland by landless workers movements as akin to terrorism, with harsher penalties for perpetrators, an agriculture ministry official said on Monday. Nabhan Garcia, land issues secretary at the ministry, said the government must convince the National Congress to
Bolsonaro gives Brazil farm ministry powers on indigenous land
Rio de Janeiro/Brasilia | Reuters — New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the agriculture ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress,
JBS accused of violating rainforest protection laws
Brasilia | Reuters –– The world’s largest meatpacker, Brazil’s JBS SA, has for years knowingly bought cattle that were raised on illegally deforested land, turning a blind eye to regulations meant to protect the Amazon rainforest, Brazil’s environmental regulator has alleged. The accusation comes even as JBS and other meatpackers in Brazil, the top global
Brazil to open farmland, airlines to foreign buyers
Brasilia | Reuters — President Michel Temer will propose legislation to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of airlines and agricultural land in Brazil as he strives to pull the economy out of a two-year recession, government sources said on Monday. Temer’s centre-right government plans to send Congress a bill allowing 100 per cent foreign ownership
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