Press Release

The U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue Joint Statement

Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Miguel Jorge, are pleased to release the following Joint Statement, which outlines the overall results of the October 10, 2007, meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue, in Brasilia, Brazil.

Recognizing the strong and close commercial ties that Brazil and the United States enjoy and the importance of promoting an open and predictable environment for trade and investment, we are pleased to take note of the progress made under the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue since its June 2006 launch. We are committed to continue working cooperatively to improve overall economic and business relations between our two countries and to encourage the public and private sectors of our respective countries to increase and diversify the bilateral flows of goods and services. We reaffirm Presidents Bush and Lula’s goals, jointly expressed on the occasion of President Bush’s visit to Brazil in November 2005, of substantially increased bilateral trade by 2010.

Enhanced Commercial Opportunities
In an increasingly competitive global economy, we recognize the importance of timely, efficient customs clearance and a secure supply chain. We were pleased to note the collaboration between the Commerce and Customs Authorities in both countries, and express our support of bilateral efforts to ensure the efficient and secure movement of goods. We discussed Brazil’s Customs modernization plans, particularly in the area of express delivery, and the importance of this to both Brazilian and U.S. industry.

Through cooperative trade show activities and programs focused on franchising, we intend to deepen U.S.-Brazil trade and investment ties. Additionally, recognizing the importance of sound business forecasting and understanding the strength and direction of a nation’s economy, we note the importance of the work that the Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade have undertaken to exchange information and experiences on methods used in the collection, classification and distribution of statistical data on international trade in services.

Promoting Innovation and Growth
We reaffirm our joint commitment to promote innovation and growth. Recognizing that an effective patent and trademark system plays an important role in the global economy and in fostering entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, we agree to enhance technical cooperation on patents and trademarks. We also agree to enhanced cooperation and information sharing between the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality and other exchanges to strengthen cooperation on standards, conformity assessment and technical regulations. We recognize the work done under the Commercial Dialogue on business registration, and note with pleasure Brazil’s report that the average time needed to open a business in the country reduced substantially. We agree to continue the Commercial Dialogue focus on entrepreneurial and venture development with an eye toward building and maintaining a culture of free enterprise, and note the establishment of a venture capital task force to identify and address impediments to venture capital with a particular focus on innovative small and medium sized businesses.

The United States-Brazil Commercial Dialogue demonstrates our mutual respect as trading partners and our commitment to work closely together. We have directed officials, through regular dialogue and meetings of the focus groups, to continue to seek ways to deepen our commercial relationship. We agree that the United States shall host the next Ministerial Meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue in 2008.

COMMERCIAL DIALOGUE HIGHLIGHTS

Cooperation on Industrial Property

• Over the past year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) have engaged in several joint activities regarding patent and trademark issues that have resulted in an enhanced and stronger relationship.
• One example of this increased collaboration will be when, in January of 2008, INPI biotechnology patent examiners complete an 8-month in-residence training program at the USPTO.

Measurements and Standards for Biofuels

• Several conferences and workshops have identified the technical challenges related to biofuels standards and work has begun to address the issues. The U.S. and Brazil are working cooperatively on standard reference materials for ethanol and biodiesel.

Scientific Exchange Activities

• A Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program has been established that will start in late 2007 with the first Brazilians arriving at the National Institute for Science and Technology for one year.
• An exchange program will focus on sharing best practices on science and technology management.

Enhanced Collaboration on Standards

• A public-private standards dialogue was launched to increase awareness and understanding of the U.S. and Brazil’s standards systems.

Promoting the Rapid and Secure Movement of Goods

• Technical exchanges and orientation visits to express delivery services facilities were undertaken in support of Brazil’s Customs Modernization goals.
• The Dialogue supported greater Customs to Customs exchanges focused on the secure movement of goods.

Cooperation on Remanufacturing Services

• Brazilian and US officials have agreed on conduct information exchange between governmental authorities about quality, environment, consumer and health protection, technical standards and regulations, all related to remanufacturing

Support for Efforts to Reduce Business Registration Delays

• Brazilian officials took part in a technical visit to three American states to review best practices in business registration. Following that visit, Brazil modernized and integrated its business registration processes, and reported a substantial reduction of times needed to register and open a business.

Export and Investment Promotion

• Through a public private partnership, Brazil hosted a delegation of U.S. institutional investors, representing 10 pension and endowment funds for a comprehensive introduction toprivate equity investing in Brazil, and an eye toward eventual investment into Brazilian investment funds.
• The Dialogue strengthened the U.S. –Brazil partnership in franchising, a business model that promotes entrepreneurship, investment, and improved business skills to enhance economic development and facilitated a technical exchange on best practices.
• The Dialogue has also resulted in a new partnership between the Commerce Department, MDIC and APEX involving joint tradeshow recruitment and an exchange of best practices on export assistance,maximizing private sector partnerships in exporting, and training and commercial outreach.