Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Ken Hyatt and Brazil’s Secretary of Foreign Trade Daniel Godinho signed Friday a new Trade Facilitation Memorandum of Intent (MOI) that formalizes a commitment to improve the economic and commercial relationship between the two trade partners. The signing closed out the 12th US-Brazil Commercial Dialogue (Dialogue) in Washington.
“This MOI formalizes our shared commitment to continue to improve the overall economic and business relationship between our two countries,” said Hyatt at a luncheon hosted by the Brazil-US Business Council. “It seeks to leverage the private sector’s desire to work on trade facilitation, thereby advancing public-private partnerships that increase technical border management expertise, support bilateral trade and reduce costs for businesses.”
During the discussions, the United States and Brazil agreed to focus on five core themes moving forward: Standards and Regulatory Engagement, Trade Facilitation and Statistics, Intellectual Property Cooperation, Industry and Investment, Standards and Metrology, and Services and Supply Chains. With these overarching themes as a guide, the Dialogue’s working groups will build upon ongoing efforts to open markets and deepen the US-Brazil trade and investment ties that foster innovation, economic growth, and job creation.
US exports to Brazil totaled $42 billion in 2014.