BRASILIA - Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn and Brazil’s Vice-President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) Geraldo Alckmin today signed a letter of intent to foster trade-facilitation and export-promotion activities in Brazil.
On trade facilitation, the IDB will support the Ministry in implementing the New Import Process within the scope of the Single Foreign Trade Portal Program, the main effort to reduce bureaucracy in Brazilian foreign trade.
The initiative aims to eliminate inefficient bureaucracy, simplify procedures, harmonize documents, and use cutting-edge technology in import operations to reduce time and costs for public administration, mainly for foreign-trade operators. It is based on a broad process overhaul with an initial focus on five government agencies responsible for about 85% (by amount) of import licensing operations in Brazil.
The agencies are: the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa); the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa); National Petroleum, the Natural Gas and Biofuel Agency (ANP); the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama); and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
In terms of export promotion, the IDB will help the Ministry implement the National Export Culture Policy (PNCE), which aims to encourage learning about export experience and boost the number of export-oriented micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Only an estimated 1% (by value) of Brazilian exports are carried out by MSMEs, according to a study by the Ministry's Foreign Trade Secretariat released in June.
The Bank will also support export-oriented biodiversity products from the Amazon region, promoting an inclusive and sustainable development model, as well as initiatives to boost the participation of women-led companies in foreign trade and increase exports from Federation Units with low representation in foreign trade.
Vice-President and Minister Alckmin highlighted the collaboration as strategic for boosting Brazilian international trade. “This partnership will contribute to a favorable environment for business growth and will open new opportunities for the Brazilian economy on the global stage,” he stated.
President Goldfajn celebrated the initiative as an important step in the IDB's support for the Brazilian trade agenda. “Reducing bureaucracy, facilitating trade, encouraging exports in the Amazon region and promoting exports by micro, small and medium-sized companies are at the heart of the partnership between the IDB and the MDIC. A Brazil that is more integrated into international trade benefits both the country and the entire Latin America and Caribbean region, promoting opportunities and economic development,” he said.
The announcement took place within the framework of the Brasil Investment Forum, an event dedicated to presenting investment opportunities in Brazil’s key sectors for development, such as infrastructure, the energy transition, food security and sustainable agriculture, among others.
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