On Tuesday, USTR hosted the first meeting of the U.S. - Brazil Commission on Economic and Trade Relations. Deputy United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Miriam Sapiro, led the U.S. delegation. Under-Secretary General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Valdemar Carneiro Leão, and the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Dr. Alessandro Teixeira co-chaired the Brazilian delegation. The bilateral Commission was established by the United States - Brazil Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ATEC), which was signed last March during President Obama’s trip to Brazil.
During the March 13th meeting, the United States and Brazil agreed to explore greater cooperation on a variety of issues including investment, intellectual property rights and innovation, cross-border trade in services, and small businesses, among other issues. Agricultural biotechnology wasf highlighted as an area of current cooperation and great potential for both countries, since the United States and Brazil are the two largest cultivators of biotech crops. The two governments pledged continuing close cooperation and agreed to hold the next meeting of the Commission in Brazil.
Following the inaugural Commission meeting, Ambassador Sapiro stated, “Our joint goal is for the Commission to serve as a forum for deepening and strengthening our work on trade and economic issues. I am pleased to say that the first meeting of the Commission was a success.”
