The economist and former president of the Central Bank, Arminio Fraga, evaluates that Brazilian products should affect the country’s economic growth, but do not represent the main obstacle to development.
For him, the largest obstacles to GDP advance remain internal, such as fiscal imbalance, high interest rates, insecurity and corruption.
In an interview with The globeFraga argued that the government’s package of measures to mitigate the impact of the light tariff into account the “fragile” situation of public accounts. “We are poorly stopped in many areas regarding Brazil’s productivity,” he said.
Free tool
XP Simulator
Learn in 1 minute how much your money can yield
The economist considers that the US response was “heavy” and different from that applied to other countries, as it involved direct criticism of the Brazilian judiciary. Despite political tension, he believes it is still possible to negotiate better conditions with Donald Trump’s management.
Commercial opening
Fraga points out that, although Brazil has advanced in business conversations with the European Union, the process still faces obstacles. In the case of Mercosur, it evaluates that the block has oscillated to the taste of internal crises, but sees a more favorable scenario with the liberal posture of Argentine President Javier Milei
Regarding the Brazilian economic closure, he recognizes that the country maintains a high level of protectionism, but disagrees with the idea that this justifies the American measure. “If the point of arrival is low rates with reciprocity, it may not be so bad. Some of the American complaints are understandable, but our case is ‘sui generis’,” he said.
Continues after advertising
Among the issues that could be at the table, Fraga cites the exploration of rare land, considered strategic globally. He recalls that there are foreign companies operating in the sector and that exploration models can be discussed as long as respecting national rules.
Another sensitive point is foreign trade, which, according to the economist, still houses many protectionist mechanisms. Fraga also mentioned the discomfort of international competitors with Pix, Brazilian instant payment system.
“Pix is a spectacle, Brazil is flying in this area. It is extremely efficient and cheap. There is no point in turning back. It is their problem to adapt. We have to enhance our model increasingly,” he concluded.
