Brazil

Brazil is Germany’s most important trade partner in Latin America and the economic engine of South America and Mercosur. By its turn, Germany is Brazil’s most important trade partner in Europe. In 2019, the trade volume between both countries reached 36,8 billion euros, the greatest trade-flow between a Latin America and a European country. Traded products include commodities, such as coffee beans, iron and copper, as well as industrial products, like pharmaceuticals and automotive components.

Within the framework of the Global Project Quality Infrastructure, Brazil and Germany have been engaging in a technical and political dialogue on quality infrastructure since 2017, with the aim to reduce technical barriers to trade and enhance product safety. The Brazilian Ministry of Economy (ME) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) have therefore established the Brazilian-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure. It involves relevant ministries, regulators, public agencies, accreditation and standards bodies, industry associations, and companies.

In Brazil, partner institutions include the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO), the Brazilian Technical Standards Association (ABNT) and the Ministry of Infrastructure (MInfra).

The Brazilian and German partners and stakeholders of the Working Group jointly address technical market access concerns of the industry, and thereby improve business conditions and bilateral trade. Topics range from overarching reforms of regulatory framework conditions, machinery safety, standardization of Industry 4.0, in-vitro diagnostics to data protection and IT-security.