• According to a document that Reuters had access to, the main agreement in the area of trade facilitation includes the commitment to mutual recognition of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs, a certificate given by the IRS in both countries to trading companies that allows an almost automatic clearance of goods at the borders;
• In addition, there is the provision of Advance Solutions by the customs authorities and the use of electronic means in trade.

Brazil and the United States representatives will sign, next Monday, a package of trade facilitation measures that includes topics to reduce bureaucracy, good regulatory practices, and an anti-corruption protocol, in a set of measures that the Brazilian government is addressing as a first step towards reaching a broader trade agreement.

According to a document that Reuters had access to, the main agreement in the area of trade facilitation includes, for example, the commitment to mutual recognition of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs, a certificate given by the IRS in both countries to trading companies that allows an almost automatic clearance of goods at the borders. In addition, there is the provision of Advance Solutions by the customs authorities and the use of electronic means in trade.

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In the area of good regulatory practices, a protocol will be signed to review existing regulations and open space to the creation of a coordination mechanism to oversee the adoption of good regulatory practices by the federal government.

The third agreement deals with measures against corruption. It includes, for example, the set of standards to prevent employees from soliciting or accepting bribes, that companies or other governments propose undue payments, as well as a protection mechanism for those who report such crimes.

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Still far from the trade agreement with the Americans that Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has announced at the beginning of Jair Bolsonaro‘s government, the agreement is being seen as an important first step to something bigger.

“It is obvious that a path to a larger agreement is being paved. These are chapters of an agreement that may come and are not unimportant,” a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Initially discussed at the meeting between Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago (Florida), Trump’s summer residence, in March this year, the deal was all negotiated virtually during the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the U.S. and Brazil hard.