Brazil
Economic and trade overview
Key figuresEconomy 2011 Trade 2011 (USD billion)
GDP (USD) 2,477 bn Goods Exports 256
GDP per capita (USD) 12,594 Imports 226
GDP volume growth (year-on-year) + 2.7% Net + 30
Population 196.66m Services Exports 38
MMR (year average) 11.66% Imports 76
Exchange rate BRL / USD (year average) 1.6728 Net – 38
BoP (goods, services & income) as % of GDP – 2.2% Source: IFS, IMF, January 2013International/Regional memberships
Mercado Común del Sur / Southern Cone
Common Market (Mercosur):
founding member since 26 March 1991.
International Monetary Fund:
since 14 January 1946.
World Trade Organization:
since 1 January 1995.Government trade policy
Brazil implements the relevant Mercosur
(www.mercosur.int) trade regulations and
customs policies.
Brazil benefits from preferential trade
with its fellow Mercosur customs union
members (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay
and Venezuela) as well as with Mercosur’s
associate members. Mercosur has trade agreements with Bolivia,
Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico
and Cuba. Negotiations for a regional trade
agreement between the EU and Mercosur
have been put on hold.
National export credit insurance provider:
IRB-Brasil Resseguros SA
(www2.irb-brasilre.com.br/site/), a majority
state-owned reinsurance company, covers
political and extraordinary risks.
Banco do Brasil (BCB — http://www.bb.com.br)
operates the state-supported export credit
programme, Proex, while the Brazilian
National Development Bank (BNDES —
http://www.bndes.gov.br) operates BNDES-Exim, a
pre and post-shipment financing programme.
Brazil maintains four free trade zones:
Manaus, Tabatinga, Macapá/Santana and
Guajará-Mirim.Currency and exchange controls
Official currency: Brazilian real (BRL).
Exchange rate arrangement: floating.
The BCB administers exchange controls on
capital transactions and the National Monetary
Council is responsible for foreign exchange policy.
Banks can trade foreign exchange on a
forward basis, but must settle an interbank
or export transaction within 1,500 days and,
for all other transactions, within 360 days.
Brazil applies a financial transaction tax (IOF)
on certain foreign exchange transactions,
usually at a rate of 0.38 percent. There is a 6 percent exchange tax applied
to the repayment or interest inflows resulting
from external loans with a minimum maturity
of up to 360 days. There is a 6.38 percent
tax applied to remittances relating to the
obligations of credit card administration
companies to pay for client purchases.
A number of transactions are subject to a
zero-rate exchange tax, including the inflow
of export proceeds, foreign capital returns,
interbank transactions between institutions
authorised to operate in the foreign
exchange market; outflows of interest on