Brazilian trade negotiators want access to US sugar market in exchange for dropping ethanol tariffs

In Brazil, the Folha de Sao Paulo reports Brazilian trade negotiators are willing to drop tariffs on US ethanol imports if in return the US drops import restrictions on Brazilian sugar exports. The US sugar market is extremely tightly controlled with import quotas based on expected domestic production and stocks-to-use ratio. Out of quota sugar imports fetch a 140% tariff while out of quota US ethanol into Brazil only carries a 20% tariff. Negotiations are expected to pick up again later this month.