Group Representing Brazilian Companies in the US to Shut Down

08/03/2018 - 14h00

In the midst of the trade war sponsored by the Donald Trump administration in the US, the BIC (Brazil Industries Coalition), the main special interest group for Brazilian companies in Washington, will be shutting down.

According to sources that are close to the BIC, the reason the company is going to close its doors has to do with a reduction in terms of investments used to finance the activities of the association, which was created in 2000.

Embraer, Instituto Aço Brasil, The National Industry Confederation (CNI), Apex (which helps promote exports) and companies associated to the electric and textile sectors are some of the companies that are, or have already been, linked to the Brazil Industries Coalition.

The presidency of the board has been vacant ever since Antonio Josino Meirelles stood down in February.

The alternative to the BIC for such companies will be either to seek the services of an American lobbying firm - unlike Brazil, in the US lobbying activities are considered legal - or to seek American industry associations in order to continue to defend their interests. The latter would be more onerous.

	Paulo Fridman/ Bloomberg
	"The BIC should not be extinguished, we are against this," said Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, the executive president of the Instituto Aço Brasil.

The coalition played an important role in the negotiations with the American government in the midst of the trade war, working alongside lawyers, the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC) as well as the Brazilian embassy.

In the end, Brazil was exempted from paying the 25% tariff on steel that was imposed on the countries of the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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