Last Friday, the Brazil-U.S. Business Council had the pleasure of hosting Senator Richard Lugar for a Brazil Forum Luncheon at the Chamber.

Senator Lugar, a respected voice in the U.S. Senate and foreign policy community, discussed the U.S.-Brazil bilateral relationship  and and the opportunities for advancing it. He emphasized Brazil’s importance to the United States and stated that “without diminishing other countries and issues in Latin America, the United States must devote a much larger share of our overall diplomatic and economic outreach to Brazil.”

President Obama’s visit to Brazil earlier this year and his address to the bilateral business community at the inaugural U.S.-Brazil Business Summit were positive developments for the relationship. Senator Lugar, however, called for a more ambitious, bilateral agenda, including the negotiation of a Bilateral Tax Treaty and a U.S.-Mercosul market access agreement. These remarks are most welcome to us at the Brazil-U.S. Business Council and come as we focus on preparing for Brazilian President Rousseff’s visit to Washington in 2012. 

“This once-in-a-lifetime confluence of the two highest profile sporting events in the world [the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016] occurring back-to-back in a dynamic economic environment could set the stage for a truly monumental leap forward for the Brazilian economy.  If the Administration fails to put forward a visionary trade expansion policy with Brazil, long-term opportunities for American workers and companies associated with this transformation could be lost forever,” said Senator Lugar.

Let’s work together to make sure these opportunities are not missed and join Senator Lugar, “to promote actions by our government to enhance conditions conducive to an aggressive expansion of U.S.-Brazilian ties.”