Apex-Brasil Launches New Report About The Enhancement Of The US-Brazil Bilateral Economic Relationship, Alongside The Atlantic Council

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report that highlights how the United States and Brazil can deepen their trade and investment relationship was launched today by the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center of the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan DC-based foreign policy think tank. The "US-Brazil Trade and FDI: Enhancing the Bilateral Economic Relationship" report, developed with the support of Apex-Brasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and authored by U.S. and Brazilian former policymakers and private-sector leaders, highlights the importance of an open, transparent, inclusive, and international rules-based bilateral trading system between the U.S. and Brazil. The report includes practical recommendations for how both countries can work together in the near- and long-term to seize the commercial benefits of closer relations and work toward an eventual free trade agreement.

As part of the rollout of the report, Sergio Ricardo Segovia Barbosa, the President of Apex-Brasil, will participate in two distinct events – one in the U.S. and one in Brazil. The report will formally be released on March 5 in Washington DC as part of an event sponsored by Apex-Brasil and hosted by the Atlantic Council. The DC event – "US-Brazil Economic Relations: The Path to a Trade Agreement" – will include remarks by Mr. Segovia, as well as participation of Nestor Forster, the Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S., Joe Semsar, Undersecretary of Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and representatives from the U.S. and Brazilian private sectors. On March 31, another event, highlighting the release of the Portuguese-language version of the report, will be held in São Paulo.

"The U.S. is Brazil's second-largest export market and trading partner, and the release of this report underscores that crucial relationship. We both benefit from the longer-term commercial opportunities that exist if we continue to diversify our trade partnership, especially in the areas of services, agribusiness, and digital trade, including the sale of consumer products online, as well as the flow of digital data. I'm proud that several Apex-Brasil initiatives support the future of US-Brazil trade and investment attraction, such as our StartOut Brasil program, as well as our ongoing partnership with PPI – the Investment Projects Portfolio – and I'm looking forward to what the future holds," said Mr. Segovia.

The report builds on the positive momentum around bilateral commitments made between the U.S. and Brazil over the past year to further bring the two economies closer together in increasing prosperity, enhancing security, and promoting democracy – from the signing of the Technology Safeguards Agreement, to the U.S. designating Brazil as a Major Non-NATO Ally, to eliminating the need for U.S. citizens to obtain visas to travel to Brazil, and the U.S. supporting Brazil's step towards OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) membership. Of this momentum, Mr. Segovia added, "For Apex-Brasil, this report is relevant because it systemically analyzes concrete possibilities to increase Brazil's bilateral relationship with the U.S."

"Throughout 2020, the United States and Brazil have the chance to focus on key, practical, short-term wins that could pave the way for next steps toward a comprehensive long-term trade agreement. A joint effort alongside U.S. and Brazilian public and private sectors, this bipartisan report and effort showcases the ways the two countries can lower trade barriers and enhance integration in the near-term, while articulating the benefits of a comprehensive free trade agreement and investment agreement in the long term," said Jason Marczak, Director at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.  

To access the full US-Brazil 2.0 report, please visit the following link: http://www.apexbrasil.com.br/InteligenciaMercado/DownloadEstudo?arquivo=f1123d91-2e04-4feb-ac12241189d3d4ef.pdf&estudoID=1341&estudoNome=USBRAZIL%20TRADE%20AND%20FDI:Enhancing%20the%20Bilateral%20Economic%20Relationship; and to learn more about Apex-Brasil's initiatives related to encouraging trade and investment between the U.S. and Brazil, please visit: http://www.apexbrasil.com.br/en/home.

About Apex-Brasil
The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad, and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy.  Apex-Brasil organizes several initiatives aiming to promote Brazilian exports abroad. The Agency's efforts comprise trade and prospective missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, arrangement of technical visits of foreign buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, and other select activities designed to strengthen the country's branding abroad. Apex-Brasil also plays a leading role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, by working to identify business opportunities, promoting strategic events and lending support to foreign investors willing to allocate resources in Brazil.

Media Contacts
Lilian Leão Alves 
Apex-Brasil
[email protected] 
+55 (61) 9 8462 0525

McKenzie Naylor
Ruder Finn – PR on behalf of Apex-Brasil in the U.S.
[email protected] 
+1 917 656 0463

SOURCE Apex-Brasil