Developed countries are “full” of contradictions. The biggest example happended in the recent negotiations of the Doha round, in which they want that developing countries to open their markets, however, the richest deny themselves to do the same.

But the contradictions of the richest countries do not stop there. In the last decade, Brazilian companies started to internationalize themselves. The most successful are the Vale do Rio Doce (mining), Gerdau (steel) and Embraer (the third largest manufacturer of aircraft in the world). There is the case of Inbev, world largest manufacturer of beer that is Belgian-Brazilian.

But others large corporations linked to the agricultural sector are also internationalizing, such as the Friboi, Sadia and Perdigão. These three bought several companies here in Mercosur and naw are acquiring others in the United States and Europe. The Friboi bought three large Americans producers of beef - Tasman National Beef, Smithfield Beef Processing - and plans to buy more, including in Australia.

Perdigão

The Sadia, the biggest local producer of chicken meat and swine, is acquiring companies in the same industry in Europe. It had acquired a company in this industry in Russia and wants to buy the Grampian Country (one of the biggest in England) and BK Poultry (Netherlands) in the last years.

The Gerdau bought the steel companies MacSteel, Pacific Coast Steel, Bay Area Reinforcing and Chaparral in the United States (the Gerdau steel has companies in Spain, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, India, Mexico and other countries).

These acquisitions that Brazilian companies are doing abroad is cause for criticism in rich countries. The French claim that the producers of chicken meat and Brazilian swine are “destroying” the French competitors. The North American Democrat Senator Herb Kohl wants the Department of Justice of the United States prevents Brazilian companies to buy companies producers of beef there.

The strategy of Brazilian companies in the sector of food has changed because the rich rich were constantly imposing restrictions on these companies, alleging various reasons. The output found was to enter in these markets buying local companies, however this is causing great discontent there.

As always, the richest countries defend only the opening up of markets in developing countries. But defending their markets through protectionist arguments. Until when these countries will continue doing this? I hope that the failure of negotiations in Doha round serve to show them that the world is undergoing transformation, with new powers emerging that can not be further ignored. China, India, Brazil and Russia are not small countries and are willing to give demonstrations of force.

Embraer