US-Brazil summit: Pompeo stresses need to reduce dependence on Chinese imports

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted the need for the United States and Brazil to reduce dependence on China for imports for their own security. Speaking at a virtual summit on increased US-Brazil cooperation, Pompeo stressed the importance of expanding economic ties between the two countries.

The top US diplomat said that the two countries need to find ways to increase trade between the two countries and reduce dependence for “critical items” imported from China. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his wish to boost ties with Brazil, a country led by far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, to provide a counterweight to China.

China remains Brazil’s largest trade partner and enhancing trade relations with the United States could jeopardise the export of soy and iron ore amid deteriorating Sino-US relations. The United States has been pressurising its allies to curb trade relations with China, including banning China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for 5G operations.

“In the last year and a half, together with President Trump, we have elevated Brazil-U.S. relations to its best moment ever, and opened a new chapter in the relationship between the two largest economies and democracies in the hemisphere,” Bolsonaro told the summit organised by US Chamber of Commerce.

Read: Pompeo Urges Americans To Learn Foreign Languages, Cites China's Expansive Ambitions

Read: Brazil Police Finds Cash Stacked In Underpants Of Jair Bolsonaro's Ally: Reports

US-Brazil ties

The Brazilian President announced three agreements with the US, adding that the deal will curb red-tapism and increase trade and investment. The United States and Brazil signed the protocol outlining the agreements, saying it would set the stage for future cooperation and identifying priority sectors to reduce trade barriers.

Earlier this year, the US Federal Reserve had announced the establishment of temporary US dollar liquidity arrangements to provide dollars to more central banks, including Brazil and Mexico. It said that the facilities are designed to help lessen strains in global US dollar funding markets. It will further mitigate the effects of these strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses, both domestically and abroad.

Read: COVID-19: Brazil's Most Populous State Of Sao Paulo To Make Vaccination Mandatory

Read: US Election 2020: Hungary's Orban, Brazil's Bolsonaro Bet On Four More Years Of Trump

(Image: AP)