Reference News Network reported on April 18th according to EFE News reported on April 17th that the agriculture minister-level officials of BRICS countries promised on April 17th to "eliminate" trade barriers "inconsistent with" international rules and agreed to deepen internal cooperation within the group to ensure food supply and stabilize price fluctuations.
In the joint statement released after the meeting held by Brazil, the rotating presidency of BRICS countries, all parties expressed their commitment to "strengthening a multilateral trading system based on rules, nondiscrimination, openness, fairness, inclusiveness, equality, and transparency".
This commitment comes at a time when the international trade situation is extremely uncertain, due to the trade war initiated by U.S. President Trump. He has imposed general tariffs of 10%, while increasing tariffs on China, a BRICS member country, to 145%.
In the face of this situation, the agriculture minister-level officials of BRICS countries emphasized that "global trade and investment remain important engines for agricultural growth".
On the other hand, all parties agreed to "strengthen food reserves", invest in grain storage infrastructure, promote "public policy tools supporting minimum purchase prices", and monitor production costs to ensure access to critical agricultural inputs.
The Brazilian government stated in a press release that BRICS member countries are seeking to address price volatility through this approach, as price volatility is considered one of the main challenges to global food security.
The statement also includes a commitment to activate a cooperation mechanism to assist affected countries in the event of special circumstances affecting one member country, such as food shortages or sudden price increases.
Within this framework, parties decided to continue exploring the creation of a "food import financing mechanism", which is inspired by similar initiatives of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Officials also focused on the restoration of degraded land for the development of "sustainable" livestock, farming, and fishery projects.
To this end, it is proposed to establish a "BRICS Land Restoration Partnership", a platform aimed at restoring agroforestry land and developing "bioenergy solutions". (Compiled by Su Jiawei)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494578067059311143/
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