By Marcela Ayres
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil will establish a tax advisory office in China, the Brazilian Finance Ministry said, highlighting the strategic importance of the move as the two nations deepen their ties.
The decision underscores Brazil’s growing focus on its relationship with China, its largest trading partner, as tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump escalate global tensions.
A draft was seen by Reuters of the presidential decree that will create the new post in Beijing, as well as preparatory documents that cite the “growing complexity” of bilateral trade and the need to enhance cooperation on tax and customs matters.
The move coincides with mounting trade tensions between the U.S. and Brazil, after Trump linked fresh 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports to the prosecution of his ally and former President Jair Bolsonaro, leaving limited options for Latin America’s largest economy to negotiate a deal.
Tax advisory offices or attaches play a “strategic role” in international cooperation by exchanging information critical to combating tax and customs violations, the ministry said. They also provide technical guidance on Brazilian legislation to foreign investors and citizens abroad, helping to improve legal certainty and the business environment, it added.
While Brazil’s trade overtures to the U.S. have gone unanswered so far, relations with China have deepened.
Since taking office in 2023, leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has met with President Xi Jinping three times. The two countries have also agreed to explore transportation integration, including a proposed bi-oceanic rail corridor linking Brazil to the Chinese-built port of Chancay in Peru.
Asked why Brazil is only now establishing a tax office in China – its top trading partner since 2009 – the ministry denied any link to the ongoing trade war.
“There is no political motivation,” said the ministry, noting that the initiative reflects the importance of bilateral trade and the need for deeper cooperation on tax and customs issues.
Brazil currently has four tax and customs attachés abroad – in Washington and Buenos Aires, both set up in 2000, and in Asuncion and Montevideo, established in 2002.
The United States remains Brazil’s top source of foreign direct investment, while Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay are its Mercosur bloc co-founders.
The Finance Ministry said discussions around the attaché in Beijing began in 2023 and have involved technical reviews by multiple ministries since January 6 this year.
(Reporting and writing by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Manuela Andreoni and David Holmes)
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