Hello and welcome!  Or as we say in Brazil, Olá e bem-vindo!
The U.S. Commercial Service helps U.S. firms enter or increase their market share in Brazil, the second largest market in the Western Hemisphere. With a network of five offices throughout the country, our sector specialists assist U.S. companies excel in the dynamic Brazilian marketplace by helping to identify potential business partners, overcome trade barriers through Commercial Diplomacy, obtain valuable sector-specific market research, and connect to a variety of export promotion resources.

We also help Brazilian companies find the best U.S. suppliers. Please visit our BuyUSA website for details.

Spotlight: Officer and Post

Mark Russell is the Commercial Consul for the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro. He arrived in Rio in August 2014.   Mark and his Rio-based staff manage the U.S. government’s trade promotion programs in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Espírito Santo.   Mark’s previously served as the Commercial Counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon where Mark promoted U.S. trade in Portugal as well as the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.  Mark’s previous assignments include serving as the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo from 2008-2010, the Principal Commercial Officer at the American Consulate General in Chennai, India from 2005-2008, and the Commercial Attaché in Prague from 2002-2005. 

Mr. Russell joined the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service after ten years of military and private-sector business experience.  He has a B.S. from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University. 

About Rio de Janeiro: Rio has the second largest municipal GDP in the Brazil. It is headquarters to Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including Petrobras, the national oil company and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate, Grupo Globo. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil.  Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and beaches  (Copacabana and Ipanema, among other).

Additionally, some of its most famous landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums.  Rio de Janeiro was the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics, making the city the first South American and Portuguese-speaking city to host these events. 

BREAKING NEWS

Moody’s Increases Brazil’s Outlook
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service revised the outlook for Brazil’s sovereign rating from negative to stable, in a vote of confidence that the winner of this year’s elections will deliver an unpopular agenda of cuts to government spending. Moody’s expects the incoming administration to resume efforts to approve further reforms, in particular to social security, and to comply with the constitutionally-mandated spending.
Brazil’s Finance Ministry attributed the improvement in Moody’s outlook to belt tightening led by the government’s economic team in the last two years and said the debate on structural changes needs to evolve. The Ministry “reaffirms its commitment to fiscal consolidation and recuperation of economic activity and jobs,” it said in a statement. Read the entire article here

Brazil Records Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Growth
In a March 1, 2018 article, the Financial Times reports positive growth for Brazil’s economy. The country’s economy grew in every quarter of the year, and its GDP increased by 2.1 percent when compared to the same period in 2016. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) also forecasts Brazilian economic growth in 2018 and 2019.