WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee said on Wednesday it opposed the Trump administration’s plan to expand economic ties to Brazil under the leadership of President Jair Bolsonaro, given its record on human rights and the environment.
Committee Chairman Richard Neal and his fellow Democrats on the committee told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a letter that Bolsonaro’s government had shown a “complete disregard for basic human rights.”
“We strongly oppose pursuing any type of trade agreement with the Bolsonaro government in Brazil. Enhancing the U.S.-Brazilian economic relationship at this time would undermine the efforts of Brazilian human, labor, and environmental rights advocates to advance the rule of law and protect and preserve marginalized communities,” they wrote.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Richard Chang)
