Economic and Cultural Parallels: Brazil and the USA

 

The United States and Brazil are the greatest democracies in the Americas

Both nations have economies that are both dynamic and diverse, as well as shared values and interests. Their populations are culturally and ethnically diverse. Comprehensive and institutionalized, the bilateral relationship is founded on a strong history of partnership. The 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations will be commemorated in 2024. Simultaneously, Brazilian corporations are increasing their investments in the United States to increase their production capacity, obtain new technologies, and expand their operations globally. The number of business excursions, student exchanges, and cultural activities has also contributed to the increased significance of people-to-people ties. On February 10, 2023, President Lula visited Washington, DC, at the invitation of President Biden. Both leaders emphasized that the bilateral agenda is centered on the promotion of respect for human rights, the strengthening of democracy, and the struggle against climate change. The event commemorated the jointly initiated "Partnership for Workers' Rights."

The presence of a variety of cooperation mechanisms is advantageous to the constructive dialogue between the United States and Brazil. The following are the primary bilateral coordination forums: The United States is Brazil's second-largest trading partner in terms of commerce and the primary destination for Brazilian manufactured and semi-manufactured products. In 2022, bilateral trade flows reached an all-time high of $88.7 billion, a 25.8% increase from 2021. This is the first occasion on which bilateral trade has exceeded the threshold of $80 billion. Brazilian exports accounted for $37.4 billion of the total, which represents a 20.2% increase from 2021, while U.S. exports accounted for $51.3 billion, which represents a 30.3% increase in the same comparison.

The Brazilian Central Bank's data indicates that the stock of U.S. direct investment in Brazil

in 2019 was $191 billion, representing a 55.3% increase from the previous year (or $68 billion). This amount accounts for 21.3% of the total foreign direct investment in Brazil, making the United States the primary source of foreign investments in the country. The stock amount is four times greater than that of the next main source. Brazil's investment stock in the United States reached $45.4 billion in 2021, according to data from SelectUSA, the agency responsible for promoting and facilitating corporate investment into the United States.The broad, dynamic, and productive nature of the Brazil-US partnership is underscored by the frequent and intense exchange of high-level visits between Brazilian and American leaders, as well as the wide-ranging formal mechanisms for dialogue established between representatives of the public and private sectors of the two countries.

The relationship between Brazil and Washington is (in)famously inconsistent. During their inaugural mandates, Presidents Obama and Rousseff established a complex network of task forces and working groups that addressed a diverse array of topics, including energy, education, and science and technology. However, these endeavors were largely halted, almost immediately, in the wake of the Snowden revelations. This is not merely a consequence of the incident's nature; rather, it is a component of a pattern of mutual recrimination and false starts in the relationship, as evidenced by the fallout of the proposed Brazil-Turkey-Iran nuclear deal, the failure of the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations, disagreements over the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the NATO intervention in Libya, and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Government personnel databases, it is unrealistic to anticipate that the U.S.-Chinese relationship will come to a complete cessation as a result. Although there is a substantial potential benefit to international cooperation between the United States and Brazil, there is also a negligible cost associated with a strained relationship between the two nations. Brazil does not pose a geopolitical threat to the United States, in contrast to China and Russia. Additionally, the United States and India do not possess an apparent geopolitical advantage as a result of their positive relationship. The region of South America is characterized by a high degree of tranquility and a relatively low risk of international terrorism or proliferation. In the same vein, Brazil does not perceive the United States as a significant geopolitical threat, despite the irrational beliefs of certain eccentric strategists.

The U.S. relationship with Brazil is fundamentally distinct from that of other key global players

in that it lacks a significant constituency in each country that is responsible for maintaining positive relations. The U.S. and Brazilian economies are not incorporated into each other's economic value chains, despite a substantial trade relationship. There is no such powerful Brazil lobby in Washington or U.S. lobby in Brazil, in contrast to Canada, China, Germany, India, or Israel, where a wide array of actors in the private sector, civil society, and government are profoundly concerned with mutual trade, investment, security, and the broader global order. In general, Americans and Brazilians hold favorable opinions of one another; however, these sentiments are diffuse, while the negative emotions are concentrated, particularly in Itamaraty and Foggy Bottom. This renders it exceedingly straightforward for either party to terminate the partnership whenever complications arise.