While the Brazilian government and millions of Brazilians surveyed at home have misgivings about the U.S.-sponsored talks to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas, many Brazilians with small businesses in South Florida expressed strong support of the proposed treaty.
The FTAA would create the world's largest free trade zone, encompassing 34 countries and more than 835 million people in the Western Hemisphere.
"We pay much more for items we import from Brazil, and that makes them more expensive," said Fernando Ferreira, co-owner of the Kybom Pizzeria in Pompano Beach, which sells pizza as well as juices and soft drinks imported from the South American country. "Why not make imports more open?"
"Free trade offers a great opportunity for Brazil," said Cassia Carvalho, who works in operations support at Stefanini IT Solutions in Fort Lauderdale, a Brazilian company that develops software for major companies here and in Brazil. "The business we generate will help here and in Brazil," she added.
"I'd like to see America as a whole bloc reach a level where Latin American countries would have more opportunities to trade," said Antonio Moreira, vice president for North American operations at Stefanini, whose activities are not impacted by import duties. "I understand that countries have to have protectionist policies, but they must learn to see things more globally. If the U.S. allows Brazil to sell its products here, it makes us stronger in Brazil and the market there will buy more products from the U.S. We have to think long term," he added.
About 200,000 Brazilians live in South Florida, according to an estimate by the Brazilian consulate.
Brazil, Latin America's largest nation, and the United States are co-chairs of next week's Miami talks on the free trade zone, which will attract thousands of business executives, government officials and anti-globalization protesters to South Florida.
One of Brasilia's biggest complaints in the FTAA talks is that the United States heavily subsidizes domestic agriculture and sets up barriers on imports from Brazil. Other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean fear that a free trade zone will allow U.S. multinationals to dominate their home markets and will damage or destroy domestic businesses.
The U.S. position is that the FTAA will lower trade barriers, encourage investment and trade, create jobs and bolster democracy in the region.
Support for free trade is tempered by some distrust of the U.S. government. Joao Goncalves, who, with his wife Suzy owns Creative Photo Studios & Video in Pompano Beach, said the United States is protecting its market from Brazilian goods, referring to the Bush administration's tariffs on imported steel. "They just want to sell, not to buy," he said. "The U.S. makes the rules, and then they break the rules," he said.
In contrast, Evaldu Amaral, owner of Amaral Consulting and Services Inc. in Davie, a management consulting company that imports Brazilian software for applications in restaurants, believes the FTAA is necessary for the region and that the Brazilian government has adopted an ideological position against the pact. "I totally support free trade," he said. "Some industries will win and some will lose."
Joseph Mann can be reached at jmann@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4665.
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