Lula to lobby U.S. to cut Brazil ethanol tariffs

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he'll use meetings this week with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush to lobby the U.S. to cut tariffs on ethanol imports.

The U.S., the world's biggest ethanol consumer and producer, imposes a 54 cent-a-gallon tariff on purchases of ethanol from Brazil. The two leaders are slated to meet in Sao Paulo on March 9.

"The high tariffs the U.S. imposes on Brazilian ethanol don't make any sense," Lula said during his weekly radio address to the nation.

Ending the tariffs will reduce dependence on oil and encourage developed countries to invest in agricultural projects in poorer economies, creating jobs there and boosting economic growth, Lula said.

Of the 3.5 billion liters of ethanol Brazil sold abroad last year, some 2 billion liters were sent to the U.S., Eduardo Pereira de Carvalho, head the Center-South Sugar and Ethanol Industry Association, said last week. Brazil produces 18 billion liters of ethanol per year, he said.

(Published by Bloomberg, March 5, 2007)