Top Brazilian Diplomat Says Trade Facilitation Talks Almost Complete
Brazil's top diplomat in Washington said talks with U.S. officials are advancing, and Nestor Forster said they've made “concrete progress toward achieving the vision that our presidents set at Mar-a-Lago in having a meaningful trade and economic package by the end of this year.” The package will not include any changes to quotas or tariffs, as Brazil is part of Mercosur, a customs union in South America. Forster, the chargé d'affaires at Brazil’s embassy in Washington, was speaking at an Atlantic Council online event June 4.
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He said the two sides have made “lot of progress what regards trade facilitation; that's one area where we are very close to wrapping up conversations.” He said they're in “ongoing talks on good regulatory practices and e-commerce, those talks are well-advanced, and we expect to have something by the end of the year.”
He said Brazil wants to get rid of “inefficiencies that are built into our systems,” so that they can streamline exporting and importing between the two countries.
He said the two countries “have just begun discussions on anti-corruption measures,” and are also early in a dialogue on intellectual property issues. “We have received some issues of interest for the American side,” he said.
Forster had said of the current talks: “We see all this as stepping stones towards something more ambitious at the end, for a more meaningful commercial agreement ... in the near future.”
U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman said this dialogue has touched on taxes, digital trade and mining regulations. He also said the initiative is aimed at improving the business environment in financial technology, digital trade, and scientific cooperation. He said the economic discussions “are progressing at a very rapid clip.”
Moderator Roberta Braga of the Atlantic Council asked Forster about the letter from House Democrats opposing a free trade deal with Brazil (see 2006030055). “That's part of the process, that some congressmen will express concerns about this or that issue,” he responded. “It's very helpful for us ... so we can clarify points, misinformation that might be around.”