Largest U.S. Economic Delegation to Visit Brazil in Decades, Focuses on Advancing U.S.-Brazil Relationship, Brazilians Sign Agreements with United States Trade Representative and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
WASHINGTON – Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed today joined a U.S. delegation to Brazil led by National Security Advisor Ambassador Robert O’Brien to discuss how the U.S. and Brazil can promote freedom, economic growth, jobs, and prosperity for both countries.
“Brazil is a vital economic partner of the United States. Our delegation, which is the largest U.S. economic delegation to visit Brazil in decades, reaffirms the Trump Administration’s commitment to freedom, economic growth, and prosperity in both countries,” said EXIM Chairman Reed. “It is an honor to join National Security Advisor Ambassador Robert O’Brien, and my interagency colleagues, as we focus on working toward a shared vision of expanding bilateral trade and investment between our countries. We had very productive discussions today with Brazil’s Minister of Economy Guedes and Foreign Minister Araújo, and we look forward to exciting developments tomorrow.”
Those participating in U.S. delegation events include the following:
- Ambassador Robert O’Brien, National Security Advisor
- Ambassador Todd C. Chapman, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil
- Kimberly Reed, President and Chairman, EXIM
- Ambassador Michael Nemelka, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
- Sabrina Teichman, Managing Director for the Western Hemisphere, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
- Joshua Hodges, National Security Advisor Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Also representing EXIM was Chief of Staff Ryan McCormack.
The delegation this morning participated in a discussion with the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), the American Chamber of Commerce leadership, and Brazilian CEOs focusing on the U.S.-Brazilian economic relationship and China’s influence in the region.
In the afternoon, the delegation participated in a meeting with Brazil Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes on initiatives to increase U.S. investment in infrastructure and energy. The delegation also met with Brazil Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo to discuss how the U.S. and Brazil can work together to foster economic and national security in the region.
During the day, the United States Trade Representative and Brazilian officials updated the agreement on on trade and economic cooperation with new protocol on trade rules and transparency. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also also signed two investment agreements with Brazilian companies, which will create work for thousands of Brazilians.
This delegation also supports the Trump Administration’s América Crece initiative, which is a whole-of-government approach to support economic development by catalyzing private-sector investment in energy and other infrastructure projects across the Americas.
Readout from EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed’s Meeting with Brazilian Development Bank President Gustavo Montezano
Kimberly Reed, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Export-Import Bank of the United States
President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Kimberly A. Reed met with Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) President Gustavo Montezano in Brasilia to discuss the strong U.S.-Brazil relationship, and how the export of U.S. goods and services to Brazil can strengthen and support jobs in both countries.
During the meeting, Chairman Reed and President Montezano discussed EXIM’s new Program on China and Transformational Exports (Program), which focuses on ten key industries including 5G and wireless telecommunications, quantum computing, renewable energy, biotechnology, and water sanitation. The Program directs EXIM to provide export financing to directly neutralize export subsidies offered by the People’s Republic of China, thereby helping ensure a more level playing field for U.S. businesses and workers as they compete globally. The law charges EXIM with a goal of reserving not less than 20 percent of the agency’s totaling financing authority (i.e., $27 billion out of a total $135 billion) for support made pursuant to the program.
Chairman Reed and President Montezano also discussed ways that their respective institutions could coordinate efforts to improve competitiveness and work toward certain important common goals. Chairman Reed and President Montezano discussed the highlights of EXIM’s 2019 Report to the U.S. Congress on Global Export Credit Competition, which details the latest trends in export finance.
Chairman Reed and President Montezano met previously on October 18, 2019, at EXIM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Sabrina Teichman, Managing Director for the Western Hemisphere at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also participated in the meeting, which followed a successful first day of U.S. delegation economic discussions in Brazil. DFC and BNDES agreed to collaborate on water and sanitation and investing in women-owned and women-led businesses.
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency’s authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.
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