Brazil co-brokers Iran nuclear deal

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear plans appeared to have eased after Brazil helped broker a deal with the Islamic republic.

Under the arrangement Iran would send roughly 2645 pounds of low-enriched uranium to Turkey, the country other than Brazil who worked out the diplomatic plan. In exchange, Iran will receive a “smaller amount of highly-enriched uranium” destined for the country’s medical research reactor.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim praised the deal as one that could prevent U.N. sanctions against Iran in favor of a softer stance compared to the U.S. and Europe. Indeed, Amorim noted that the arrangement reaffirms Iran’s right “to have peaceful activities in the nuclear area, including enrichment.” Ironically the uranium swap agreed to today is similar to one initially agreed to by Iran in October that it would later reject.

Western powers have been lukewarm and skeptical towards the deal; the Obama administration has “serious concerns” over the deal according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs while EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said that the pact “does not solve the fundamental problem” of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Yet as Financial Times blogger Jonathan Wheatley noted, Brazil’s diplomacy was certainly "worth trying”:

(…) the weekend’s news of a deal to swap Iranian nuclear fuel in Turkey could vindicate Brazilian diplomacy. The idea that Iran would abandon its alleged nuclear weapons program in favor of a peaceful nuclear energy program in response to amicable talks rather than under the threat of UN-backed sanctions seemed unrealistic, even naïve. But it may well have paid off. Even a US official conceded today that the latest news was “potentially a good development.”

Image- Al Jazeera English (Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva helped reach today’s uranium swap deal with Iran.)
Online Sources- NPR, Washington Post, Voice of America, Los Angeles Times, boston.com, Al Jazeera English, FT.com

Brazil unhappy with U.S. stimulus plan

Yesterday U.S. President Barack Obama signed a $787 billion economic stimulus bill and remarked that it represented “the beginning of the end” for the country’s economic woes. One hopes that his words ring true and that the stimulus is the first step in pulling the U.S. out of its economic quagmire.

Other countries around the world do not share Obama’s rosy outlook, however. An editorial by China's official Xinhua news agency blasted protectionist clauses incorporated into the stimulus plan. Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean criticized the “Buy American” provisions though observed that they did not violate international trade norms.

Brazil’s government may go a step further than just complaining; Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Monday that he may appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge the legality of the "Buy American" clauses. As Reuters reported:

"It's a complex legal analysis, but we're doing it," Amorim said. "(Going to the WTO) is a real option," he told the state television channel TV Brasil in a program to be aired later this week…

Amorim said the U.S. move was counterproductive, likening it to a pain-killer that heals the symptoms of disease but not its cause. He said the Doha round was not dead but would be hard to revive.

“It's a bad sign. ... It's not positive at a moment when the world economy is trying to revive," Amorim said.

Despite the warnings of Amorim and others, some analysts believe that the protectionist clauses will not hurt the U.S. too much. "They have managed to contain the damage…It now looks like the 'Buy American' clause shouldn't be seen as a major concern of our trade partners" said, Inter-American Dialogue head Peter Hakim in remarks to columnist Andres Oppenheimer.

Image- AP (“Vice President Joe Biden looks on as President Barack Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, during a ceremony at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, CNN, bernama.com, The Modesto Bee, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

L. da Silva: South-South Summit in Salvador

Just weeks after the emergency UNASUR meeting held in Chile (which, by definition, excluded US participation), plans are underway for another meeting in Bahia, Brazil in mid-December.

Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, told press this week that the meeting can be seen as another key step towards regional integration, which he deems "necessary," adding that international crises such as those underway "demand integrated solutions."

Other leaders are less coy about the promise for integration. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque called the summit a chance for the region to "speak with its own voice," and sees it as the start of a longer "process toward unity, integration and cooperation among the Latin American and Caribbean countries."

While the topics of the summit purport to be large and wide-ranging, what is clear is that the summit will be infused with an urgent spirit based primarily on the external and international crises on money, energy, and food.

Particularly interesting is the enthusiasm that foreign leaders have shown for the summit to be held in Brazil, and for the leadership that Lula is showing in the region. As Lula faces the nearing of the end of his mandate, the question of his legacy may well be on his mind.

Also of interest--to me, anyhow--is that a google news search (English, all dates) of "summit" + "Brazil" + "December" yields only news sources from Cuba, China, Brazil (and one random one from Italy).

Sources: IPS News, Granma, Xinhua News Service, Bloggings by Boz