Foreign Trade Day
Every year, on January 28th, is celebrated the Foreign Trade Day in Brazil.
A very special day for those who work in this area to celebrate their personal achievements and direct participation in the country’s economic development.
But do you know the story behind this date and what is the market scenario for those who work with comex today in terms of careers?
No?!
No problem, in the next few minutes we will tell you a little about the history of foreign trade in Brazil and you will understand even more how important foreign trade professionals are for the country’s economic wealth.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
It all starts with the arrival of the Portuguese royal family and the establishment of the royal court in Brazil in 1808.
At that time, Portugal feared the imminent invasion of Napoleon and, out of an act of courage combined with necessity, the then Regent Prince Dom João de Bragança, decided to transfer the royal court to the Tupiniquin lands. From there on, a series of measures are taken that culminate in Brazil’s emancipation, which up to that moment was just a Portuguese colony.
Among the actions taken that same year – more precisely six days after his arrival – Dom João VI signed a royal letter on the 28th of January: the Decree of “The opening of the Brazilian Ports to Friend Nations”, which determined that, from then on, Brazil was free to do business with other friendly nations of Portugal. Before the decree, the products exported by Brazil had as POD (Port of Destiny) exclusively Portugal, which later re-exported them.
Such decree was the first step towards independence that would come years later, on the banks of the Ipiranga River, in 1822.
This is why January 28, 1808, is considered the beginning of Brazilian Foreign Trade.
The main exported products were sugar, cotton, tobacco and coffee and the country with which Brazil had the most import and export operations was England.
With the economic explosion that came with the England Industrial Revolution, Portugal signed an agreement with them where many benefits were guaranteed to the English in negotiations involving products from Brazil to the detriment of products produced in Great Britain.
This commercial agreement, known as the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation or the Pelris Treaty, authorized the entry of English products into Brazil upon payment of taxes at a rate of 15% ad valorem. Products originating from other locations were subject to a 24% tax. On the other hand, Brazilian products that were prohibited from entering English soils were then allowed.
The continuation of this history involves the independence of our nation and the industrial and economic development whose main mechanism is foreign trade for the control and regulation of the entry and exit of goods.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FOREIGN TRADE AND THE BRAZILIAN TRADE BALANCE
As we have seen, since its origins in Brazil, Foreign Trade is a powerful tool in promoting economic and cultural development. Likewise, when we get to know the Foreign Trade history, we can see that since the beginning it was always necessary to deal with the challenges of imposing trade conditions on other nations that were favorable to Brazilian interests.
A nation is considered economically prosperous when the main indicator of foreign trade, the Trade Balance, results in surplus.
The Trade Balance points to the difference found between exports and imports. When the balance of exports is greater than the balance of imports, there is a surplus. When the difference is negative between exports and imports, you have a deficit.
In other words, a well-economic country sells (exports) much more than it buys (imports).
Let’s get to know a little bit more about the current reality of Brazilian Foreign Trade.
According to data released by the Brazilian Ministry of Economy, the Trade Balance ended 2021 in a surplus of US$ 61 billion. This was the Brazilian record for surplus in its history: growth was 21.1% higher in relation to the previous year.
This positive balance of Brazilian Foreign Trade is largely due to the 28.3% increase in the value exported compared to the previous year.
The increase in exports was mainly observed for the United States (44.9%), Mercosur (37%), Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Asean (36.8%), European Union (32.1%) and China (28%).
The main products exported by Brazil are soy, crude oil derived from petroleum and minerals, iron ore, beef, poultry, and cellulose.
Regarding imports, the growth in imported value was 14.2%, and the origins with the highest rates of increase were Mercosur (44.7%), the United States (41.3%) and China (36.7 %).
The main products imported by Brazil are petroleum or mineral fuel oils, manure or chemical fertilizers, manufacturing industry products, telecommunication equipment, and thermionic valves and tubes.
As we can see, Foreign Trade was not only important in the historic process of Brazil’s independence, but continues to be extremely relevant today.
It can be seen that currently Foreign Trade sextor has been using more and more of the new technological trends and innovative models available in the global market.
The main trends serving Brazilian Foreign Trade companies is the mass management of data and its functionalities. The Brazilian Government has invested vigorously in technological development of technological systems and functions that promote better control and greater facilitation of the steps involved in the entire chain.
The topics that have set the tone in the speeches of CEOs and key professionals from the main foreign trade players are risk management, comex 4.0 and industry 4.0, big data, business intelligence, and automation via artificial intelligence.
Professionals who are looking to start in this career or those who want to continue acting with relevance in the foreign trade market need to be updated on these new market trends.
To be prepared for the new it is important to know what is comex 4.0 and all its outcomes.
In addition, those who want to stand out in this scenario can seek to specialize through courses and training that involve Power BI – Business Intelligence, Data Analysis and Management – Big Data Centers, Risk Analysis and Management, New Import Process – NPI and DUIMP, Dashboards and KPIs, Systems Integration and Automation – API.