Brazil and the United States to Cooperate on Job-Creating Investments

(ITA) Department of Commerce SelectUSA and Apex-Brasil cement agreement to promote increased investment

BRASILIA, Brazil – Acting Under Secretary of Commerce Ken Hyatt and Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) Director of Corporate Management Tatiana Porto today signed an a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) on behalf of SelectUSA, a Presidential initiative housed in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Apex-Brasil. Under this MOI, SelectUSA and Apex-Brasil intend to work together to encourage investment between the two countries. The more than 76,000 U.S. workers employed by Brazilian companies doing business in the United States underscore the importance of this agreement. The signing took place at the conclusion of the 11th plenary session of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue.

SelectUSA is the first U.S. government-wide program to promote and facilitate business investment. Apex-Brasil similiarly works to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

“We are excited about this opportunity to work together with Apex-Brasil. Brazilian firms are increasingly making job-creating investments in the United States,” said Hyatt. “Foreign direct investment is about mutual success – Brazilian firms that succeed in the world’s largest market can create more jobs in both countries. Our team at SelectUSA looks forward to welcoming more Brazilian investors and assisting them as they establish their operations in the United States.”

FDI from Brazil into the United States has been growing rapidly. At the end of 2012 – the latest year for which numbers are available – the total stock of Brazilian FDI in the United States stood at $14 billion, nearly 10 percent higher than in 2011. U.S. subsidiaries of Brazilian firms exported $5.7 billion of goods from the United States in 2011.

“The United States is a priority market for Brazil, not only by its size and global importance - which are indisputable - but also by the historical ties that bind the two nations and their peoples,” said Porto. “This Memorandum of Intent between Apex-Brasil and SelectUSA reinforces the bilateral relationship between these two nations and will certainly foster bilateral foreign direct investment.”

Many U.S. firms are also succeeding in the Brazilian market. In 2012, the stock of FDI from the United States into Brazil totaled $79 billion.

The U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue was established in 2006 with the goal of fostering improved cooperation between the Department of Commerce and the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, with the mutual goal of increasing bilateral trade and investment. The Dialogue focuses on developing better mutual understanding and developing win-win strategies. Since the previous session in February 2013, officials from the Department of Commerce and the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade have been working together on a variety of technical issues important to the flow of bilateral trade, including trade statistics, movement of goods and services, capacity building for trademark processing, a wide range of standards issues, and FDI.

The MOI fulfills a key commitment of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue and reinforces the strong commercial relationship between the two countries. Under the terms of the MOI, both parties will seek to act as central points of contact for existing and potential foreign investors who seek investment opportunities and information on bilateral investment flows. The parties will seek to provide assistance to investors in contacting appropriate investment and industry experts in the United States and Brazil.