The World Affairs Council of CT recently returned from a leadership mission to Brazil. What makes Brazil attractive to Connecticut businesses as a potential trading partner?
Brazil has enormous potential. There are many factors that make Brazil an attractive trading partner. It is impressive in sheer size and diversity. Import, export and investment opportunities in Brazil are plentiful. They are the world’s second-largest producer of iron ore, they are a leader in the area of biofuels, and have a rapidly developing infrastructure.Â
It is also important to note the basics, Brazil is in our hemisphere so shipping and travel distances are much shorter than say China and there is also relatively no time zone difference. Some figures show that from 2007 to 2008 trade flow between the U.S. and Brazil increased a startling 121 percent. During our time in Brazil we experienced much enthusiasm for potential partnerships and building meaningful business relationships. We were all impressed with the potential of this amazing country.
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The Brazilian economy is strong in many sectors including agribusiness and the export of raw materials and has a growing aerospace industry.
In contrast to the United States, Brazil’s consumers have not had easy access to credit until recent years and do not need to correct overspending. Brazil has benefited from high commodity prices going into the recession and its leading export customer is China, which continues to have high demand for raw materials. When worldwide growth resumes, Brazil’s exports stand to benefit. Another major difference between Brazil and the U.S. is that Brazil is currently completely self sufficient in terms of energy resources. At least 80 percent of cars in Brazil are flex fuel cars. Brazil is leading the world in terms of development of biofuels especially that of ethanol made from sugar cane. And 85 percent of the energy produced in the country comes from hydroelectric power.
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How does the World Affairs Council select who goes on a trip like this?Â
These types of trips are open to all World Affairs Council members. Our goal is to create a diverse participant list with individuals with experience from a broad spectrum of business and industry that represents our community. Both existing and potential business ties are important. When dealing with Brazil, building a trusting relationship with your business partners is very important. These types of relationships whether existing or not, need to be nurtured and cultivated. Trips like these provide participants with the rare opportunity to meet the people driving the economy and policy decisions face to face. These meetings allow participants to both build and strengthen relationships.
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Was this trip about more than just business?
Yes, one of the core missions of the World Affairs Council is to build bridges and establish deep connections between our community and others. We believe strongly in the power of citizen and people-to-people diplomacy. Our mission was as much about building business and trade ties as it was about building a strong and long lasting relationship between our world affairs council community and Brazil. There is huge potential in Brazil and by building these relationships we further our understanding between the two cultures and further the bilateral relationship in every way.
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How often does the World Affairs Council do trips like these?
The Brazil Leadership Mission was the first trip of its type completely led by the World Affairs Council but it certainly will not the last. We are currently exploring similar opportunities in India, and Qatar and we would very much like to return to Brazil. To become involved in the World Affairs Council we encourage people to join as members or at the very least follow our events in our weekly newsletters. (For more information visit www.ctwac.org).
