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PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/312

TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Promoting market competition would help sustain economic growth

Since its last review in 2004, Brazil has continued with the gradual modernization and streamlining of its trade regime, while also increasing average tariff protection. The economy has taken advantage of recent reforms and a favourable environment to grow at an annual average rate of 4.5% during 2004-2007, and 6.3% on the 12 months to September of last year, according to the WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Brazil.

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The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government, will be the basis for the Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO.

The report notes that, despite these positive achievements, and in order to meet the new challenges presented by the current world economic slowdown, Brazil needs to press on with its efforts to give additional impetus to trade and investment, including by lowering effective tariff protection, reducing the use of import prohibitions and providing greater predictability to the foreign investment and trade regime.

Solving the long standing problem of high domestic interest rates and taking additional steps to promote market competition and an efficient allocation of resources would help Brazil sustain economic growth and continue improving the living standards of its population.

The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Brazil, will be the basis for the fifth TPR of Brazil by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 9 and 11 March 2009.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

• Secretariat report
  > Contents and summary observations
  > Economic environment
  > Trade and investment regimes
  > Trade policies and practices by measure
  > Trade policies by sector
  > Appendix tables
    
• Government report
    

Note  back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews  back to top

Fiji: 25 and 27 March 2009
European Communities: 6 and 8 April 2009
Mozambique: 22 and 24 April 2009

SEE ALSO    > Full list of previous TPRs

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