U.S., Brazil Close To Shipping Pact

A shipping agreement, which was expected to be signed last Wednesday between the U.S. and Brazil reportedly will provide equal access to government business and nullify two taxes that had penalized U.S.-line shippers, U.S. officials said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, traveling in South America, said the three-year agreement would return U.S.-Brazil shipping to the "quality relationship" that had prevailed until recently for the last 30 years. "We will very soon sign the new maritime agreement with Brazil and we are very excited about that," Slater said during a telephone interview from Rio de Janeiro. "It brings the kind of level playing field we were seeking." U.S. Maritime Administrator Clyde Hart, speaking on the same call, said each country's national flag carriers would get equal access to national cargo, excluding defense items and agricultural assistance goods. Hart said government-controlled cargo was a big category in Brazil's case because it included government-promoted items in addition to government-produced goods. Brazil had also agreed to drop a separate ship registry that had offered shippers tax breaks for doing business with Brazilian-registered ships. In a further breakthrough, Hart said the Brazilian government had agreed to waive additional taxes levied on goods shipped via U.S. lines because the Brazilian Congress had not ratified the last U.S.-Brazil maritime pact. This waiver would apply until the new agreement was ratified. - (Reuters)