TAITRA delegation arrives in Brazil to expand automotive and hardware sales

TAITRA Vice Chairman Shan Chi led the "2014 Central and South America Niche Industry Trade Mission," which recently held trade discussions in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to promote niche industries such as auto parts, electronic products, hardware and machinery.

The trade discussions were jointly opened by Shan Chi, ROC Representative to Brazil Hsu Kuang-pu and Director of the Taiwan Trade Center in Brazil Yen Yi-pin, with about 250 Brazilian corporate buyers taking part. Shan Chi pointed out that the companies participating in the trade mission are all highly flexible small and medium-sized enterprises offering high-quality, innovative and market-competitive products; introducing these excellent Taiwanese manufacturers to Brazil is a mutually beneficial move.

Shan Chi said that although Brazil is certainly a key market favored by Taiwanese businesses, they face difficulties in exports and investment in various aspects, mainly because the Brazilian government's economic policy adopts excessive protectionism.

For example, although Brazil and mainland China are both major economies with great market potential, their development strategies differ and their economic performance also differs: mainland China, being more open, has attracted more foreign investment; Brazil, however, because of its closed market, has caused various troubles and obstacles for foreign investment.

Brazil is the country that has used anti-dumping investigations the most in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the trouble currently faced by Taiwanese businesses is precisely the Brazilian government's anti-dumping investigations, which have become a disguised trade barrier. Shan Chi pointed out that the purpose of trade protectionism is always to promote investment, raise national income and improve the domestic economy, but Brazil has long implemented protectionist policies with still poor results; if the Brazilian government continues to close itself off, it will find it very hard to carve out its own place in the world.

Brazil was the last stop of the trade mission's trip; it had previously visited Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. Among these, Colombia was estimated to generate a total of US$30.195 million in trade opportunities, setting a record for a TAITRA trade mission.

▲The "2014 Central and South America Niche Industry Trade Mission" held trade discussions on the 20th (local time) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to promote niche industries such as auto parts, electronic products, hardware and machinery. (Central News Agency)