© Reuters. Nearly 60 Spanish companies seek to expand their business in Brazil
Sao Paulo, Mar 30 (.).- Nearly 60 Spanish companies met this Thursday in the city of Sao Paulo to expand their business in Brazil, in a forum that was attended by the Minister of Transportation of Brazil, Renan Calheiros Filho, and the Secretary of State for Commerce of Spain, Xiana Méndez.
Calheiros Filho presented to the Spanish executives the economic guidelines of the Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, highlighting his commitment to “a market economy with income distribution and environmental sustainability.”
He urged them to continue investing in Brazil and informed them that they are making progress “in a tax reform” that will make the country “grow with fiscal and social responsibility.”
The objective is “fiscal balance” based on a reform that will be presented this Thursday and with which, if it obtains the endorsement of Congress, it will replace the controversial spending ceiling, in force since 2017.
For Méndez, a new stage opens “with a good expectation”, for which he called on Spanish companies to further strengthen relations, after 2022 in which a record flow of bilateral trade was reached.
“Spanish exports grew by almost 40% in a particularly complicated international context. Brazil is an increasingly important destination for Spain for our exports” and was “our first supplier in the Latin American region in 2022,” he assured.
In his opinion, he believes that there is room to “integrate” their markets more in a scenario of “predictable and transparent legal certainty” that guarantees “long-term investment plans.”
DEFENSE OF THE EU-MERCOSUR AGREEMENT
He also defended the trade agreement negotiated between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, a block made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, but pending approval by the parties.
“The agreement will greatly favor trade in goods, services and the public procurement market. The removal of barriers will significantly increase trade flows,” he said.
Although for this he called to be “ambitious” and “deep” in issues such as the environment, one of the points that has generated the most friction between the two blocks.
Along the same lines, the Spanish ambassador to Brazil, María del Mar Fernández-Palacios, affirmed that only “together” will they be able to “face the challenges of the contemporary world” and, in this sense, hopes that the relationship will be “strengthened” from the establishment of a permanent bilateral commission, scheduled for this year.
The Spain-Brazil business meeting was organized by the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX), in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and local entities, such as the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency and Investments (APEX).
(Photo / Video)
