Brazil is among the top 30 traders in the world, selling a wide range of products to a variety of markets across the globe. The main destinations for its exports, nonetheless, continue to be the United States and the European Union which together account for 50% of its overseas sales. At the same time, though, Brazil has been strengthening its commercial ties with other countries in South America, Africa and the Middle East.

Of the country’s total exports, 55% are manufactures. The main products are aircraft, automobiles, motors and spare parts, transmitters and receivers, semi manufactured products, iron ore, soybeans, chemical wood pulps and sugar.

Although primary products now account for only 28% of the country’s exports, some of them still rank among Brazil’s main export items, including iron ore, soy and coffee beans.

Brazil is one of the most dynamic emerging markets in the world and the most important in Latin America. It has a well-developed industrial base, and increasingly efficient exports sector and a sophisticated financial system.

With a population numbering more than 170 million inhabitants, a continental territory and abundant raw materials, Brazil has shown great capacity for absorbing hefty investments in every sector of the economy. It ranks fourth among developing countries that most attract foreign direct investments (FDI) after China, Hong Kong and Mexico. In 2002, Brazil received a total of US$ 25 billion in FDI.

The position it occupies is due to the dynamic nature of Brazilian society, the potential of its domestic market, the political stability and economic maturity Brazil has attained over the years as well as to its liberal policy toward foreign capital. Besides granting foreign capital the same treatment as domestic capital, Brazilian legislation sets no limits on the repatriation of profits and dividends.

For along time now the presence of foreign capital in Brazil has been significant and diversified in terms of both investor countries and the economic sectors involved. Foreign corporations play an active role in expanding and modernizing the country’s already huge, diversified industrial park.

The eight countries that most invest in Brazil at present are, in order of importance, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Switzerland and Japan. The privatization of concessionaire public services has encouraged many countries to increase the flow of investments into Brazil. This is especially true of Spain and Portugal, both of which have been particularly mindful in recent years of the potential Brazil holds out in sectors such as tourism and telecommunications.

Brazil’s foreign Trade policy is jointly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Ministry of Development, Trade & Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Supply and the Finance Ministry, under the co-ordination of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex), created in 1998.

On the external front, the department responsible for implementing Brazil’s Foreign Trade policy is the Trade Promotion Head Office at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relation (Itamaraty). Its mission is to organize, manage and implement policies for promoting Brazilian exports and attracting foreign investments that are of interest to Brazil.

The structure of the Trade Promotion Head Office.

Trade Promotion Programs Division – DPG
Co-ordinates a network of Focal Points in the System for Promoting Investments and Technology Transfers to Brazilian companies (Sipri) and deals with the technical aspects of BrasilTradeNet, the Ministry’s foreign trade website. It is also responsible for co-operation with other public and private organizations, training and qualification of human resources.

Trade Information Division – DIC
Responsible for systematic gathering of data on foreign trade and preparing periodical reports for the business community.

Trade Promotion Operations Division – DOC
Organizes trade mission, fairs, seminars, business rounds and other promotional events in Brazil and abroad, besides promoting tourism in Brazil.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, Itamaraty’s Trade Head Office also endeavors to boost Brazilian exports by gathering, processing and disseminating information of interest to Brazilian exporters in the form of reports, manuals, information leaflets, and a variety of surveys and assessments available through its foreign trade gateway, BrazilTradeNet .

BrazilTradeNet is the website run by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry to furnish the local business community with information about opportunities for exporting goods and services, as well as to publicize openings for foreign investments in Brazil. Launched by Itamaraty’s Trade Promotion Head Office in 1998, BrazilTradeNet has become the biggest initiative of its kind in Latin America. Besides supplying general information on foreign trade, it offers statistical data on Brazil and Mercorsur, market surveys and details about specific products and business opportunities. The site is available in Portuguese, English and Spanish language versions. In addition to providing high value information, BrazilTradeNet gives Brazilian companies free publicity for their products abroad while allowing foreign corporations to find suitable suppliers or partners in Brazil. (Extracts of Brazil, brand of Excellence, Ministry of Foreign Relations, Trade Promotion Head Office, nº 1, 2003)

BRAZIL-CANADA TRADE

Brazilian exports to Canada have been growing steadily. In 2002, sales of Brazilian products to Canada reached CA$ 1.906.161.000 (US$ 1.213.883.000), which represented a 22.8 per cent increase in relation to 2001. Canadian exports to Brazil in 2002 were CA$ 730.807.000 (US$ 465.939.000). Two-way trade increased 8.1 per cent over the same period, having reached CA$ 2.636.968.000 (US$ 1.679.276.000).
In the first three quarters of 2003 sales of Brazilian goods to Canada reached CA$ 1.432.829 (US$ 1.002.399). Canadian exports to Brazil were CA$ 644.103 (US$ 450.610). (Source: Statistics Canada )