Sowing the Seeds of Leadership: Brazil and the Agricultural Trade Negotiations of the Uruguay Round

Abstract

Brazil is seen nowadays as a great promoter of international trade liberalization in agriculture. But that was not the reality until the early 1990s. Primary sources now available show that during the initial phases of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) Brazil worked against agricultural trade negotiations, despite being one of the original participants of the Cairns Group coalition and an important agricultural exporter. This article will examine why the country had this position and what explain its transformation.