Brazil/Peru. Brazil's exports to Peru grew by 32.6% in January this year, compared to the first month of last year to US$133.4 million. There was also a high number of sales in Brazil in 2016 compared to 2015.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) indicate that shipments reacted well to commitments signed by the governments of the two countries in April last year. One, the Draft Additional Protocol to ACE 58, reducing trade barriers for light vehicle and truck negotiations. Cars are among the items that took out Brazilian exports until this year. Sales of vehicles with capacity for six passengers, for example, grew by 7.45% to US$ 1.7 million. The products that generate the highest revenue, however, were oil ($15.6 million), iron (US$8.8 million) and road tractors ($5.6 million). Already the Economic Expansion and Trade Agreement was announced by the government as "the broadest thematic bilateral agreement concluded by Brazil", for including chapters on government procurement, services and investment.
"This agreement is a very different approach to what we are used to seeing," said Edgard Carneiro Vieira, a Barral M Jorge consultant, about the success, which is still being implemented by the countries. The difference lies in the fact that success goes beyond commercial aspects, allowing, for example, Brazilian companies to participate in public tenders in Peru without the use of intermediaries.
According to the interviewee, the agreement serves as a test. "If it works, something can be done with other Latin American countries." He says trade should move forward this year, in part because of the treaties. The Trump effect: Another factor that could help the negotiations is the failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), canceled by President Donald Trump. If it were to enter into force, the trade agreement, which had the participation of Peruvians, could encourage the country's exchange with the other members of the TPP, leaving Brazil in the background. In 2016, sales to Peru increased by 7.3% and reached US$ 1,949 million. Already the imports that pass totaled US$ 1,236 million, 1.6% as of 2015.
This year, Brazilian purchases should benefit from the likely resumption of the country's economy and a more valued real. Corruption: Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said earlier this year that construction company Odebrecht will have to sell the projects it is part of and leave the country. The company is under investigation for corruption in Latin America and may have paid bribes to win bids in Peru. Although questions about the Brazilian company's modus operandi have gained traction across much of the continent, Vieira does not believe the investigations will disrupt the progress of economic agreements. "Odebrecht may not work anymore in some countries, but other [companies] will not be harmed for that reason," says consultant Jorge Barral M.
Source: Diario DCI.
