Biden warns Brazil not to lag behind on trade

RIO DE JANEIRO: US Vice President Joe Biden encouraged Brazil to open its economy further to keep up with free trade trends worldwide, at the start of a visit aimed at boosting business between the two largest economies in the Americas.
Much of the future relationship with the United States will depend on whether Brazil, whose economy still remains relatively protected by high tariffs and other barriers, can make trade easier, Biden said in a speech to local authorities and business leaders at a wharf by Rio's port.
Citing US efforts to deepen trade and investment ties with China, Europe, and other, faster-growing countries on Latin America's Pacific coast, he pressed Brazil to keep up.
"It's up to Brazil to decide whether to pursue this path and seize the opportunities," Biden said.
The three-day visit, part of a week-long swing by Biden through South America and the Caribbean, comes as Washington gears up for a state visit by President Dilma Rousseff later this year.
Brazil's economy — the world's seventh-biggest — is slowly rebounding from a two-year lull following a decade of growth. Brasilia is seeking more clout with the United States and other major economies it increasingly sees as its peers.
Biden hailed the economic growth and social programs that over the past decade lifted 40 million Brazilians out of poverty. That success, he said, is a model for developing countries still struggling with the "false choice" between business-friendly policies and progressive social practices.
"You have demonstrated there is no need to choose between a market-based economy and smart social policies," Biden said.
In recent weeks, leaders of major US and Brazilian companies have been lobbying both governments to work on more of the small agreements that over time could add up to wholesale progress for bilateral business.
"Everybody's looking for building blocks to bring the countries closer together," said one US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It's indicative of how people are trying to give greater structure to our trade and investment."
Biden will tour a research facility operated by state-run energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras. Today, he is scheduled to visit a hillside Rio slum before flying to Brasilia, the capital, for meetings tomorrow with Rousseff and Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer.
Meanwhile, Washington is still urging Brazil to back Boeing Co., the US aerospace manufacturer, on a planned purchase to upgrade its fighter jet fleet. Brazil, for its part, is eager to get US backing for long-coveted permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.