U.S. Lawmakers To Visit Brazil To Talk
Trade, Fincl Aid
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Chairman of
the House Ways and Means Committee, William Archer, R-Texas, are
traveling separately to Brazil this month to discuss trade and international
aid issues with officials there.
Lieberman will be in Brasilia Monday and Tuesday on his way to a
two-week United Nations conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on
global warming for the rest of the week, his spokeswoman said. He will
meet with Connecticut-based companies with operations in Brazil, as well
as Brazilian Foreign Minister Luis Felipe Lampreia, other members of
cabinet and congressional leaders, she said. The state of the Brazilian
economy as well as U.S. support for Brazil amid its ongoing financial crisis
will be topics of discussion, she added.
Lieberman wants to show he's "optimistic there will be continued support
to help Brazil with its economic problems," she said.
Separately, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Archer will also travel
to Brazil this month with a delegation from the committee, a spokesman for
Archer said. The purpose of the trip is to meet with government officials
and parliamentarians on regional trade integration, multilateral trade issues,
fast-track and trade disputes, a spokesman for the committee added.
Fast-track negotiating status would force Congress to vote up or down on
trade agreements without amending them.
The trips come as the international investment community eagerly awaits
concrete news on a global emergency aid package for Brazil, which has
been struggling with a depreciating real, depleted foreign exchange
reserves, and capital flight as jittery investors remove their funds from
emerging markets. Expected to be around $30 billion, the package will
involve the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and
Inter-American Development Bank with bilateral aid a likely component.
-By Kristi Bahrenburg, tel: (202) 862-9295; or e-mail:
kristi.bahrenburg@cor.dowjones.com |
