A story in today's print edition incorrectly reported that the United States has a 54 percent tariff on imported Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol. The tariff is 54 cents per gallon. This version has been corrected.
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U.S., Brazil Team Up To Promote Ethanol
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"I strongly disagree with your description of U.S. foreign policy," Bush replied. "That may be what people say, but it's certainly not what the facts bear out."
The president repeated his assertion that he has doubled direct foreign assistance to Latin America to $1.6 billion since 2001, without mentioning that his latest budget actually proposes cutting that aid to $1.47 billion. Moreover, analysts question his math, saying he is using a false comparison to exaggerate increases in aid.
Rogerio Schmitt, a political analyst here, said Lula hoped to use the meeting with Bush to project himself as an alternative to Chávez, able to enter partnerships with leaders of all ideological leanings. Whether the United States would equally benefit by being seen as an alternative to Chávez is another matter, he said. "Most people in Brazil see Chávez as a lunatic, a fool," Schmitt said. "But his popularity here is still probably higher than President Bush's."
The ethanol alliance follows Bush's pledge to reduce the projected use of gasoline in the United States by 20 percent over the next 10 years.
Brazil, a pioneer in biofuel technology since the 1970s, has become the world's largest exporter of ethanol and reinvented its own economy as a result. About 40 percent of Brazil's non-diesel gasoline consumption has been replaced by ethanol, and more than 70 percent of the cars and trucks now sold in Brazil are flex-fuel vehicles that consume either gasoline or ethanol.
The effects of that economic transformation can be seen on the streets of this city, where all service stations sell ethanol and gasoline. At a typical station, ethanol is about $3 a gallon compared with about $5 a gallon for gas.
Correspondent Monte Reel in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.
