The Third Meeting of the Japan-Brazil Joint Committee on Promoting Trade and Investment was held on April 15 and 16 in Brasilia.

The Joint Committee was established to foster closer economic relations between Japan and Brazil, a leading emerging country. The first meeting was held in Brasilia in February 2009 and the second meeting was held in Tokyo in September 2009. Co-chaired by Mr. Hiroyuki Ishige, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, and Mr. Ivan Ramalho, Executive-Secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) of Brazil, the Joint Committee aims to promote bilateral trade and investment by (a) solving relevant problems and (b) building cooperation in collaboration with the private sector (Nippon Keidanren and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Brazil on the Japanese side; the National Confederation of Industry on the Brazilian side).

1. Regarding cooperation, both sides exchanged views and information on sectors with a high potential for bilateral cooperation, including natural resource development, with the participation of many private enterprises. The Japanese side sought to build the foundations for closer economic relations with Brazil.

2. With respect to business-related challenges in Brazil, both sides shared views on what the issues were and which areas needed improvement, focusing on the Japanese side’s concerns, such as (a) the tax system in Brazil, (b) constraints on technology transfer, and (c) regulations on the import of used capital goods. In particular, as to Brazil’s enforcement of transfer pricing taxation, the Japanese side discussed with the Brazilian tax authorities the need for improvements that took account of Japanese companies’ business practices. Both sides exchanged views on the improvements that Brazil claimed to have made in response to Japanese opinions since the first meeting, and evaluated them and identified further improvements needed.

Main attendees

Japanese side
-Hiroyuki Ishige, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, METI (Japanese-side co-chair)
- Nobuko Sanui, Managing Director of Nippon Keidanren
- Tatsuo Nakayama, President of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Brazil
- Ken Shimauchi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Brazil

Brazilian side
-Ivan Ramalho, Executive-Secretary of MDIC (Brazilian-side co-chair)
-José de Freitas Mascarenhas, Vice-President of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI)

Release Date

April 19, 2010

Division in Charge

Latin America and Caribbean Office, Trade Policy Bureau

• Page top

• Back Issues

• Statistics
• White Papers & Reports
• Press Releases
• METI related Laws