The Trade Facilitation Agreement and its impacts on the Brazilian transformation industry

The WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) will have a great impact on and could unlock important potential for the Brazilian transformation industry. As a developing country, Brazil would have to make significant changes in its legislation in order to adopt a single window (“Portal Único”) for exporters and importers. This chapter concludes that the TFA will have a positive impact on the Brazilian economy in the years to come. Indeed, as Brazil is one of the world’s 10 largest economies, its Portal Único Programme has the potential, once fully implemented, to produce significant impacts on the Brazilian economy, increasing GDP by nearly US$ 70 billion per year in the long term. Empirical analyses in this chapter also suggest that the reduction of transaction costs may have positive effects not only for Brazil but also for many other WTO members.