Brazil Supports US Proposal Limiting China’s Participation in 5G, Says Itamaraty | Politics

The initiative is called “Clean Network” and, according to the Brazilian government, it has the support of European countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the main military alliance of the United States. In Brazil, frequency auctions for 5G implementation should only take place in 2021.

The support was expressed by the Secretary of Bilateral and Regional Negotiations of Itamaraty in the Americas, Ambassador Pedro Costa e Silva, in a ceremony together with the Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, Keith Krach.

Krach participated in meetings with Brazilian authorities this week on trade, investment, environment, space cooperation and mining, according to the government.

“Brazil supports the principles contained in the Clean Network proposal made by the United States, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), aimed at promoting, in the context of 5G and other new technologies, a safe, transparent environment and compatible with democratic values ​​and fundamental freedoms, ”said the ambassador.

In September, President Jair Bolsonaro had declared in a broadcast on social media that it would be up to him to decide on the implementation of 5G technology in Brazil. According to Bolsonaro, there will be “no one guessing.”

The auction parameters are defined by Anatel, which according to the General Telecommunications Law enjoys “administrative independence, absence of hierarchical subordination, fixed mandate and stability of its leaders and financial autonomy.”

However, there are debates about 5G technology on topics such as national security, espionage and data privacy. In these cases, the issue would fall to the intelligence of the government and the Presidency of the Republic itself. The government has yet to say how it intends to interfere in the matter.

What the ‘clean net’ says

The US State Department website says “Clean Network” is a program of the Donald Trump administration to protect American assets, including citizen privacy and confidential business data, from “aggressive invasions by actors. wicked, like the Communist Party of China. ”

“Clean Network addresses the age-old threat to data privacy, security, human rights, and principled collaboration posed by evil and authoritarian actors. Clean Network is built on internationally accepted digital trust standards,” the site says. of the United States government, in free translation.

The program, the website continues, “represents the execution of a long-term, multi-year government strategy, built on a coalition of trusted partners and based on the rapidly evolving technology and economics of global markets.”

5G is a very similar system to 4G. You need an antenna, where the electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, that carry data through the air come from. But the new technology uses very high wave frequencies, capable of carrying more data.

In addition to technological issues, the 5G debate involves ideological, economic and national security disputes. The issue remains at the center of the trade war between the United States and China.

At Tuesday’s ceremony, Keith Krach pointed out that Brazil is the first country in Latin America to support the principles of the clean grid proposal and that this will bring development to the country.

None of the authorities ruled on the US elections, held last week and still in the recount process. Current President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden were not named.

Journalists who attended the event were unable to ask questions of the participants.

In a note, the Foreign Ministry pointed out that this Tuesday the Brazil-United States-Japan Trilateral Dialogue (Jusbe) was also launched. According to the document, the three countries committed to guaranteeing an “ecosystem that is safe, reliable and vibrant.”

“In addition to developing a common approach to the use of 5G networks that are transparent, secure and based on free and fair competition and the rule of law, in line with their national laws, priorities in the formulation of policies and international obligations”, says the note. .

Itamaraty also reported on the launch of a “Brazil-United States Environmental Dialogue”, with the aim of deepening the relations of the two countries in this area.

“Among the priority areas identified for greater collaboration are the well-being of indigenous communities; promoting the bioeconomy; combat illegal logging and basic sanitation, ”Costa e Silva said in the joint statement.

According to Itamaraty, Brazil is also studying the possibility of cooperating with the US space agency Nasa in a program, called Artemis, which aims to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2024.