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To: LLCF who wrote (32403)	4/25/2003 2:20:21 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 74559

Ptahcing up O'Neils's Damage: US Treasury secretary hails Brazil's policies By Raymond Colitt in São Paulo Published: April 24 2003 5:00 \| Last Updated: April 24 2003 5:00 John Snow, US Treasury secretary, yesterday praised Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's orthodox economic policies and held out the possibility of deeper concessions in trade talks. The Brazilian economy, he said, was on a "very good and positive course" and commended the president and his finance minister for strong economic leadership, emphasis on sound fiscal and monetary policy, and efforts to deal with several structural reforms. Mr Snow's comments are part of a wider US diplomatic overture towards several Latin American countries that have embraced market-oriented policies in recent months. The move might also ease the perception there that Washington has ignored the region during the war against terrorism that followed September 11 2001. The US Treasury secretary signalled that Washington had no hard feelings because of Brazil's opposition to the war in Iraq. "We respect the country's stand, disappointed of course, but we respect it," he said. Mr Snow is on a four-day visit to Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia, where relatively new governments have made progress in improving their respective economies. In a sign of warming bilateral relations, half a dozen top US officials are scheduled to visit Brazil over two months. "The [US] administration is coming out of the post-September 11 shock. There is much more interest in building relations with the region," said Riordan Roett, head of the western hemisphere programme at Johns Hopkins university. There had been a real "wake-up" in Washington with the good performance of Brazil and Ecuador, he said. "There is a realisation that [Ecuador's president Lucio] Gutierrez may be a future model for the Andean region and that the US wants to work with that type of responsible government." Mr Snow's assessment and warm reception contrasted with the visit last year of his predecessor - Paul O'Neill - who triggered a diplomatic stand-off after he said loans to Brazil would end up in "Swiss bank accounts". In his meetings with Brazil's top economic officials, Mr Snow also signalled possible concessions in trade talks, including agricultural subsidies. "We're prepared to put everything on the table," said Mr Snow, who was due to meet Mr Lula da Silva yesterday. Antonio Palocci, finance minister, said Mr Snow's support had contributed to recent positive evaluations of Brazil by multilateral lending institutions. Yet privately several Brazilian officials remained sceptical over the US's willingness to make significant cuts in agricultural and export subsidies, one of Brazil's concerns in talks towards the Free Trade Area for the Americas.