Brazil is "very pleased" with a World Trade Organization (WTO) report that backed its decision to bar recycled tire imports from the European Union, the Brazilian foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

The WTO report "favors the environmental and public health arguments presented by Brazil," the statement said.

Brazil said that the recycled tires have a shorter life, and their import will accelerate the accumulation of products that damage the environment.

Although the WTO backed Brazil in banning European recycled tires, it said Brazil could continue to import these products from Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela, Brazil's trade partners in the Common Market of the South.