The president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has sharply criticised a decision by Canada to ban imports of Brazilian beef because of fears over mad cow disease. Mr Cardoso called the ban arbitrary and said it was unacceptable because Brazil had had no cases of the disease.
Brazil says the ban has already cost one-million dollars in lost exports.
The ban comes amid a bitter trade dispute between the two countries over subsidies to aircraft makers who are competing for the lucrative US market. Algerian suspect 'trained hijackers' Mexico's deadly hurricane eases Congress puts brakes on anti-terror laws Hackers 'branded as terrorists' Links to more Americas stories are at the foot of the page.