Cablegate: Bilateral Maritime Agreement: English and Portuguese

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001592

SIPDIS

PASS TO MARAD FOR GHALL/BCARLTON
PASS TO DOT FOR KTOURTELLOT
STATE FOR L/SMILLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EWWT KTIA BR
SUBJECT: BILATERAL MARITIME AGREEMENT: ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES

REF: (A) DEMARS-MARAD EMAIL OF 6/16/04 (B) STATE 130399

1. ECONOFF MET WITH INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ADVISOR WANDERLY
MANSO DE ALMEIDA AT THE ANTAQ (BRAZIL'S MARITIME REGULATOR)
ON JUNE 16, 2004 TO DISCUSS THE LANGUAGE CHANGES SUBMITTED BY
MARAD AND L TO THE BILATERAL MARITIME AGREEMENT PORTUGUESE
TEXT (REF A). THE GOB COUNTERPROPOSED THE FOLLOWING CHANGES
IN ARTICLE I:

A. SUBSTITUTING "AO TRAFEGO DE LONGO CURSO DE CARGAS" FOR "A
CARGA MARITIMA". THE BRAZILIANS JUSTIFY THIS CHANGE BASED ON
THE FACT THAT IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE, CARGA MARITIME
INCLUDES CABATOGE, WHICH NEITHER THE USG NOR THE GOB WANT TO
INCLUDE IN THE AGREEMENT. THE FIRST QUOTED PHRASE MORE
CLOSELY RELATES TO THE ENGLISH "OCEANBORNE CARGO".

B. GOB SUGGESTS THE FOLLOWING CHANGES WHICH SERVE TO CONFORM
THE TRANSLATED BRAZILIAN VERSION TO THE RULES OF PORTUGUESE:
"Cargas transportadas" should be plural, and changed from
"carga transportada". GoB would like clarifying language in
at least the Portuguese version from "portos e pontos"
(ports and points) to "portos ou pontos" (ports or points).
Almeida contends this gives the phrase added earlier by the
U.S. side more flexibility, since transported cargo doesn't
strictly go between ports and points, but might go from port
to port, port to point, or point to point. Manso de Almeida
also requested the change be made from "no territorio" to
"do territorio".

c. If the USG accepts this language, the Portuguese version
would read as follows:

"As Partes desenvolverao as suas relacoes bilaterais de
transporte maritime em conformidade com as seguintes
disposicoes relativas ao trafego de longo curso de cargas,
exclusive cargas a granel e cargas transportadas entre
portos ou pontos do territrio de qualquer das Partes:"

D. THE GOB ACCEPTED ALL OTHER CHANGES SET FORTH IN THE
REFTEL.

2. POST APPRECIATES DEPARTMENT, MARAD, AND DOT EFFORTS TO
DATE TO RECONCILE THE PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH TEXTS, AND
AWAITS GUIDANCE FOR A RESPONSE TO THE GOB'S PROPOSED CHANGES.

HRINAK

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