Agência Brasil
Windhoek (Namibia) – The Brazilian automobile industry has its eyes on the South African market. According to the head of Itamaraty"s Department of Trade Promotion, Mário Villalva, prospects exist for Brazilian production to supply the South African market with inexpensive models and pick-up trucks, segments overlooked by local vehicle manufacturers.
The trade agreement that would make this access possible would be "encapsuled," that is, independent of the Mercosur and the Southern African Customs Uniion (Sacu) – similar to the existing agreement between Brazil and Mexico. Villalva also disclosed that a big event involving the automobile industry is expected to take place in Johannesburg in the first half of 2004.
To make Brazilian enterprises feasible in South Africa, the government is also studying a "trilateral" scheme, following the example of the agreement that is already in place with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The bank provides the collateral necessary to obtain international financing from the Inter-American Development Bank and the African Development Bank, in return for a commitment to include the participation of a Japanese firm in the project. Villalva says that negotiations are already underway for a similar agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank.
