Thread: George Soros/Obama and Brazilian Oil

Remember all the strong accusations that it was George Soros who helped Obama win a Senate Race and then immediately groomed him for a run at the US Presidency? Now what is the pay back for all of this? You think it might be oil?

Factbox: Obama's Brazil visit to yield oil, tech deals
Published: Tuesday, 15 Mar 2011 | 12:08 PM ET

BRASILIA - Brazil and the United States hope for breakthroughs on a range of strategic and economic issues when President Barack Obama visits this weekend.

Here are the main issues that will be discussed, according to senior officials, along with the odds of success:

OIL

This area probably offers the ripest opportunity for substantive progress during Obama's visit. Brazil possesses some of the world's biggest offshore oil reserves, but could use help from abroad -- possibly from U.S. oil firms -- to help extract crude that is 6 km (4 miles) below the ocean surface.

Rousseff has told visiting U.S. officials including Republican Senator John McCain the "subsalt" reserves -- so named because they sit beneath a layer of salt on the ocean floor -- could help Brazil become a major energy exporter and provide funds for infrastructure and economic development.

However, Rousseff also said she wants to find outside markets to consume the vast majority of the oil. She believes Brazil should continue to rely on renewable sources such as hydroelectric power and ethanol for most of its energy needs.

The United States is an ideal consumer, Rousseff said. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will be part of Obama's delegation, signaling possible negotiations. The trip could yield a deal leading to technology sharing in the offshore sector or greater participation of U.S. energy companies in subsalt extraction.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Obama will offer new funding to help Brazil expand its infrastructure in coming years, and allow more U.S. companies to participate in the expected building boom.

The funding, worth hundreds of millions of dollars or more annually, would help Brazil build infrastructure to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Some key projects, including stadiums, roads and airports, are well behind schedule.

The proposal would also help fund joint infrastructure ventures in other countries -- mainly in Africa.

TRADE

This is the elephant in the room. Despite progress and goodwill in other areas, Brazil and the United States are still at loggerheads on trade issues, continuing a confrontation that characterized most of the last decade.

In a nutshell, Brazil wants greater access for its ethanol and other commodities, and fewer U.S. subsidies in cotton and agriculture generally. On the other side, the United States is pushing for more access for its consumer goods in Brazil.

Preliminary talks, including a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota in Washington earlier in March, have convinced both sides to expect scant, if any, progress.

Brazil says it cannot offer greater access to its consumer market, in part because its industries are suffering due to a strong currency and a wave of cheap imports from China.

However, Rousseff has also told visitors the decreased U.S. market share of Brazilian exports and imports in recent years is a negative development, and one that should be reversed.

Both sides are eager to avoid confrontation, so talks are likely to focus on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA, which both sides could hold up as a clear advance. A TIFA provides a road map for in-depth trade talks.

CHINA

China's economic expansion is a major reason for Brazil and the United States seeking a stronger bilateral alliance. It will be discussed this week but officials will take care not to upset the Chinese in public statements, and there are differing ideas about what strategy to pursue.

Worried by China's currency and trade policies, Brazil has under Rousseff for the first time joined U.S.-led calls for China to strengthen its currency.

Top officials have complained publicly about cheap Chinese imports hurting Brazilian manufacturers. Brazil's trade and foreign ministers traveled to China this month in part to log complaints with Chinese authorities.

Some Brazilian officials believe greater cooperation with the United States is their best chance of convincing China to adopt fairer trade practices. Yet Brazil is reluctant to publicly pressure China, as Washington wants, in public forums such as the G20. It is wary of alienating its No. 1 trade partner and source of foreign investment, and believes the move could be ineffective or counterproductive.
Copyright 2011 Reuters.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42091545


U.S. Loan to Brazilian Oil Company Riles Conservatives in Favor of Offshore Drilling

By James Rosen

Published August 20, 2009

| FOXNews.com



President Obama has opposed any expanded oil drilling off American shores largely on environmental grounds, turning a deaf ear to conservative cries of "Drill, Baby, Drill."

But now Obama may start hearing cries of "foul" after the U.S. Export-Import Bank promised Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil company, $2 billion in loan guarantees to help finance lucrative drilling off the shores of Rio De Janeiro.

Some see a contradiction in an executive branch agency, independent but with board members appointed by the president, facilitating abroad the very kind of energy exploration Obama opposes domestically.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday he wasn't prepared to address the issue.

"I have not seen the story," he said. "I'd have to take a look."

But former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a vocal proponent of offshore drilling, had plenty to say.

"So why is it that during these tough times, when we have great needs at home, the Obama White House is prepared to send more than $2 billion of your hard-earned tax dollars to Brazil so that the nation's state-owned oil company, Petrobas, can drill off shore and create jobs developing its own resources?" she asked on her Facebook page.

In fact, the Export-Import bank receives no appropriations from Congress and thus does not rely on American taxpayer dollars and is also not "sending" $2 billion to the Brazilian company but offering lines of credit to U.S. firms so they can compete to land contracts as part of Petrobras' drilling operations.

The $2 billion "preliminary commitment" by the Export-Import Bank to Petrobras is expected to grow, as the U.S. competes on behalf of American exporters of goods and services against those from China. Beijing has extended a commitment of $10 billion -- but the Brazilians are said to prefer U.S. management and technology.

Then there is the George Soros angle.

The New York-based hedge fund firm controlled by the billionaire philanthropist and backer of Democratic causes and campaigns bought and sold millions of shares in Petrobras -- the largest of the firm's holdings -- prior to public disclosure of the Export-Import bank's offer of new credit guarantees to the Brazilian energy giant.

No one has accused Soros of wrongdoing, but some say the transactions do not pass the "smell test."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08 ... z1H3pP1j10

"You know he's going to Rio to meet with this crazy Bastard!"
And believe me nothing good for America will come out of it!