Between May 15-18, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves will lead a trade mission to Brazil as part of the 2022 South America Trade Mission and Business Conference. Aside from Brazil, the broader South America trade mission will include stops in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.

Department of Commerce trade missions are official international trips where both government officials and industry representatives travel as a delegation to promote U.S. exports to target countries and grow business partnerships. They are organized with Department of Commerce Global Teams and industry experts at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to save companies valuable time and resources by maximizing face-to-face contact with prospective distributors, sales representatives or partners.

This trade mission to South America is an important opportunity for U.S. industries, as the South America region has 429 million potential customers who collectively imported over $111 billion of U.S. goods in 2021.

As the mission lead, Deputy Secretary Graves will serve as the chief U.S. government representative supporting participating U.S. companies seeking to expand into new markets in these countries.
The delegation consists of more than 60 U.S. industry representatives, all from 21 different states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Colombia, and from various sectors including health care, energy, information and communication technology, infrastructure, industrial machinery, safety and security, aerospace, food and beverage, and more. Furthermore, 90% of the companies participating in the trade mission are small- and medium-sized enterprises, and a quarter are minority-owned, woman-owned or veteran-owned.

Deputy Secretary Graves will participate in the South America Business Conference in São Paulo before traveling to Brasilia for a series of engagements with representatives of the Brazilian government and the private sector to advance several key Biden-Harris Administration and Department of Commerce priority policy issues such as trade facilitation, climate change, good regulatory practices, the Biden Administration’s global infrastructure initiative, and implementation of the U.S.-Brazil Protocols on Trade Rules and Transparency, which are important to the broader bilateral commercial relationship.

The Deputy Secretary will also discuss key policy issues following up on the February 2022 Special Session of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum, the upcoming 20th U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue plenary this summer, and the Ninth Summit of the Americas which the United States will host the week of June 6 in Los Angeles.

“The Department of Commerce is excited to continue the momentum in the U.S.-Brazil commercial relationship with this trade mission to South America,” said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. “Brazil, like so many countries in South America, is closely tied to the United States through proximity, history, culture, and a strong economic relationship. This trip will allow the United States and Brazil to forge an even stronger partnership, one which will deepen the economic relationship between both nations and further build upon our shared goals and commitments. Together we will develop a robust infrastructure, tackle climate issues and increase trade opportunities in order to meet the needs of Brazil’s growing economy, both now and in the future.”