Brazilian Agricultural Trade Secretary Orlando Leite Ribeiro has said he expects China to end tariffs on sugar imports sometime, but he does not know precisely when, Reuters reports.
“The issue of sugar is being discussed by the Brazilian and Chinese delegations in Geneva and the conversation is going well,” the news agency quotes Mr Ribeiro as saying, referring to the national delegations to the World Trade Organisation.
“Our expectation is that the safeguard will not be renewed.”
The report says China imposed in 2017 an additional tariff of 45 percent on sugar imports beyond a 1.94 million tonne quota, to protect Chinese farmers as world prices for sugar dropped.
The tariff was due to remain for at least three years.
The tariff has severely reduced Brazilian exports of sugar to China, Reuters says.
