MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula and Boric highlight bilateral trade opportunities

“Trade is about bringing people together,” Boric told Lula at th3e Business Forum

Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Gabriel Boric Font of Chile Tuesday advocated for stronger trade relations between their countries at a Business Forum in Brasília. Lula encouraged Brazilian businesspeople to import more Chilean products to balance trade and emphasized fairness in business dealings.

“Chilean and Brazilian businesspeople need to know that good business is a win-win situation. And as Latin America's largest economy, Brazil has to understand that it is obliged to be flexible so that things can happen. It's not about doing favors, it's about being fair,” Lula said at the closing event of the Brazil-Chile Business Forum in Brasilia.

According to Brazil's National Confederation of Industry (CNI), South America's largest nation is Chile's main trading partner in the continent, predominantly in industrial goods, while Chile accounts for 2.1% of Brazil's trade flow, thus ranking 7th.

In 2024, trade between the two countries amounted to US$ 11.7 billion, with US$ 6.7 billion in Brazilian exports to Chile and US$ 5 billion in imports.

Lula also stressed that Latin American countries should not just wait for help from richer countries like the United States and the European Union.

“Nobody is going to make us rich. What we need is for us to want to become rich from our own capacity, from our own investment,” Lula insisted.

Boric highlighted Chile's socio-economic stability, which makes the country a great destination for investment. “Chile is a reliable partner, a stable, secure country that respects the rules of the game and with which it is possible to do business of mutual benefit,” he underlined.

“We believe that trade is about bringing people together, generating wealth, and sharing it in the best way. When you opt for protectionism, it's not the political elites who suffer, it's the people, the families, the small producers,” he further noted.

Earlier Tuesday, Boric was welcomed at the Planalto Palace to promote the diversification of relations between Brazil and Chile, with greater logistical and commercial integration. (Source: Agencia Brasil)