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Brazil announced trade sanctions Monday on a range of American goods, affecting products from Heinz ketchup to Ford automobiles, retaliating for billions of dollars that the United States pours into domestic cotton subsidies.
The World Trade Organization last year authorized Brazil to set $829.3 million in annual penalties against the United States for anticompetitive subsidies. The sanctions will remain in place as long as the practice continues, Brazil said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that it was "disappointed" and that Washington prefers continued negotiations.
Brazil says the United States has been able to remain the world's second-largest cotton producer by paying some $3 billion to American farmers each year. China is the largest exporter; Brazil is fifth.
09 March, 2010 by admin