MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK and Brazil committed to exchange of EU/Mercosur market access offers by end of 2015

JETCO meeting was headed by Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and his Brazil counterpart Armando Monteiro (L)

The United Kingdom and Brazil reaffirmed on Friday their support for the success of the European Union/Mercosur Association agreement negotiations in the framework of the eighth meeting of the UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) which emphasizes bilateral cooperation and initiatives.

 The meeting in London was headed by Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Armando Monteiro, the Brazilian Minister for Development, Industry and Trade.

As consecutive hosts of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, ministers noted the opportunities that Rio 2016 will bring to deepen further our bilateral trade and investment relationship.

Never before has there been closer collaboration between two Olympic host cities than with London and Rio de Janeiro. This has led to a significant amount of business between the two countries with UK and Brazilian companies working closely together.

The UK and Brazil will continue to encourage partnerships between British and Brazilian companies around commercial opportunities for the Rio 2016 Games and future sporting events. This will ensure that both countries make the most of the event and reap the benefits.

As to Mercosur/EU, both governments reiterated their firm commitment to encourage their respective blocs to exchange ambitious market access offers by the end of 2015.

They also agreed on the importance of WTO negotiations in the lead up to and beyond the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi.

They welcomed the cooperation activities already delivered through the FCO Prospertu Fund and agreed to continue sharing good practice on reducing non-tariff barriers and implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement including: the establishment of National Single Windows; the use of Port Community Systems; improvements to import and export procedures and the establishment and operation of National Committees for Trade Facilitation.

In other areas the two countries welcomed progress to date on promulgation of the bilateral Co-Production Treaty. They will endeavor to conclude the process by March 2016, allowing the film and TV industries in each country to benefit from opportunities for collaboration including at Rio Content Market in 2016.

The United Kingdom welcomed Brazil’s interest in participating at the London Design Biennale in September 2016 at Somerset House. They looked forward to collaborating on this exceptional opportunity to exhibit the best of both nations’ design and creative cultures, and to make valuable connections with government, business and the public.

Innovation and intellectual property was another area to which the partners are committed to continue the cooperation and exchange of experiences on innovation and intellectual property through the United Kingdom Chapter of InovAtiva Brasil.

This will help Brazilian start-ups to internationalize by establishing themselves in the United Kingdom and generate inward investments in both countries.

UK and Brazil welcomed confirmation that the UK government’s £45 million Newton Fund in Brazil will continue to be matched on the Brazilian side up to 2019. This gives a total program fund of £90 million.

The Newton partnerships between the two countries are continuing to tackle global challenges including: infectious and neglected diseases; sustainable agriculture and issues on water, waste and energy across Brazil.

Both the United Kingdom and Brazil will continue to work together to improve the intellectual property environment for businesses and will share best practice in the fields of patents and trademarks, focusing on examination procedures and information technology solutions.

Finally UK and Brazil agreed to consider future cooperation in the areas of best practice in: regulation, building information modeling and medical devices.

UK Chancellor George Osborne and the Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy also met as part of the inaugural Economic and Financial Dialogue. Discussion focused on shared global economic challenges as well as deepening the bilateral relationship on infrastructure development and financial services.