MEDIA REACTION: UNGA; SAO PAULO

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000794 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD DEPT PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: UNGA; SAO PAULO "Lula In New York" Center-right national circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo (9/26) editorialized: "President Lula da Silva met with President Bush in New York and heard a proposal for a reasonable reduction of agricultural subsidies in exchange for a greater Brazilian opening to industrial goods imports.... If Bush really wants to include Doha's final agreement in his political legacy, he will have to devote much effort to concluding the negotiations in a few months because American politicians will soon be focusing on the 2008 elections. It is hard to say whether President Bush's political capital will be sufficient to obtain from the Congress the necessary concessions to conclude the round. Opening the UNGA, President Lula made a predictable defense of ethanol and biodiesel production as part of the solution to the world's environmental problems.... Lula correctly observed that if millions of people starve in several regions of the world today, this is not because of food shortage, but of lack of income to buy food. There is enough food in the most productive nations for both internal consumption and export. The most efficient farmers could produce much more if there were markets for their crops.... The industrialized world continues to deal the cards in the environmental policy game, and such a policy is increasingly mixed with international trade questions. Pressures favoring protectionist actions on behalf of ecological and sanitary goals have been increasingly strong in Europe. In Washington there is a discussion of a new proposal to encourage the emerging nations to adopt environmental protection policies. The risk of enlarging a protectionism disguised as environmentalism is increasing." White