The South American country blocked a proposal on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization meeting to protest at a lack of progress in separate talks on agriculture, the sources said.
“Agriculture is the sector that has seen less progress during the WTO’s 30 years of existence. We cannot allow this to continue,” Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira had told the gathering on Saturday, according to a written version of his speech.
Four days of intense negotiations in Cameroonian capital Yaounde had been scheduled to conclude around midday Sunday.
But as the closing ceremony was repeatedly pushed back, sources close to the talks said Brazil had lobbed a curveball, blocking the e-commerce talks because it was upset nothing had been achieved on agriculture.
The 166-member WTO has been trying for years to establish a programme of work for negotiations on agriculture, but the issue remains highly sensitive in many countries.
But even the lowly aim of issuing a joint declaration aimed at laying the groundwork for future negotiations was not expected to materialise.
‘Intensify’ work
While the US-Israeli war on Iran has thrown the global economy into turmoil, the WTO talks have been focused on reforming the body.
Ministers and delegates had been tasked with developing an action plan to revitalise a WTO weakened by geopolitical strains, stalled negotiations and rising protectionism.
Earlier Sunday, bleary-eyed negotiators had emerged from an all-night session with a draft text in hand, indicating a minimal agreement was in reach.
In the draft declaration, seen by AFP, trade ministers committed to “urgently” work to advance reforms.
“We instruct our officials to intensify their work with a view to providing concrete and substantive recommendations for action,” the draft declaration said, giving a deadline of the WTO’s next ministerial meeting, expected in 2028.
The organisation struggles to reach agreements because of its rules require consensus, and the current crisis has raised questions over its role in regulating international trade.
One of the major sticking points has been its dispute settlement system where judges rule on disagreements between parties.
The US has accused it of overreach and has been blocking the appointment of new judges to its appeals body, in effect paralysing it since 2019.
India, Brazil object
Completing the agreement on a reform roadmap was, however, contingent on resolving another, recurring issue.
As with every WTO ministerial since 1998, countries have been negotiating the extension of a moratorium banning customs duties on electronic transmissions.
The moratorium had risked lapsing when its latest two-year extension was set to expire on March 31, amid resistance from India.
The moratorium is highly important for the US and other developed countries, who this time wanted to make it permanent.
But India and other developing countries have opposed this, fearing a loss of tax revenues.
Sources close to the talks said India on Saturday lifted its veto on extending the moratorium, but it remained unclear if Washington would be satisfied with kicking the can down the road once again.
A draft text seen by AFP proposes a compromise of extending the moratorium for another five years instead of two.
But on Sunday afternoon it became clear there was no consensus on that text, and that Brazil had suddenly weighed it, saying it would oppose extending the moratorium, sources said.