Investe SP presents investment opportunities in the State for Secretary of Commerce of Barack Obama
USA Secretary of Commerce praises moment of the country and partnership for financing of small and medium-sized Brazilian companies with American cash will be studied
Completing the series of meetings of the party of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to Brazil, the President of Investe São Paulo, Luciano Almeida, to part, on Monday, March 21, in a meeting with the Secretary of Commerce of the United States (USA), Gary Locke. The event held in the Amcham - American Chamber of Commerce, was also attended by the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), Fred Hochberg; the US Ambassador in Brazil, Tom Shannon; and 200 Americans and Brazilian entrepreneurs.
During the reserved meeting, the American Secretary presented a summary of the topics discussed between Obama and President Dilma Rousseff last Saturday. Among them, the signature of the Teca (Agreement on Economic and Commercial Cooperation), the increase of the partnership in the field of energy in all forms, a greater exchange in education, and efforts between Brazil and the USA for the country to move on in huge infrastructure projects.
According to the President of Investe SP, Luciano Almeida, the US Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, was committed to working on a joint agenda to facilitate the investments and policies of facilitation of trade between the two countries. "We want to put all projects and bi-taxation issues in a single discussion, otherwise we will not move ahead with it. We will define priorities and resolve them step by step. And he (Gary Locke) signaled this is the way", commented Almeida.
In his speech, Locke emphasized the current image of Brazil in the world, showing data on the economic potential of the country and of the Brazilian companies. According to the US Secretary of Commerce this is the time to encourage the American companies to invest in Brazil, especially in São Paulo. "As shown by Luciano Almeida, Brazil will need investments in several areas such as airports and we would like to help them with that sector, but also with the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics", said Locke. Nevertheless, the American Secretary criticized the Brazilian tax burden. The President of Investe SP stressed out the work of support to competitiveness of the Government of the State of São Paulo. "We already took a step on Friday. Governor Geraldo Alckmin signed the tax fall to release investments in the State. The idea is to increase the project to new sectors", he said.
During the meeting arouse ideas of possible agreements, for instance, a partner of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) with the Government of the State of São Paulo, through Nossa Caixa Desenvolvimento. To the President of the Ex-Im Bank it is the beginning of a good partnership. "I believe we can work together with Investe Sao Paulo and other bodies to find opportunities of investment and financing for the companies to do more businesses and both countries continue growing", said Hochberg. The President of Nossa Caixa Desenvolvimento, Milton Santos, met with the President of the Ex-Im Bank to define how the partnership, which should aim at financing small and medium-sized enterprises, will be formalized.