Monday, April 9, 2012

Obama to talk trade, energy with Brazil's president

Trade and energy will be top items on the agenda when U.S. President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff meet in Washington Monday, officials said.

The meeting comes more than a year after Obama visited Brazil, the world's sixth-largest economy.

Two-way trade between Brazil and the United States last year totaled around $74 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Monday's talks, which will also cover other bilateral and regional issues, are part of the leaders' "ongoing dialogue regarding the growing partnership between the United States and Brazil," the White House said in a statement.

Brazil's foreign ministry said the visit "will allow the deepening of the Brazil-United States relationship, and advance bilateral dialogue between the countries."

Obama and Rousseff are also scheduled to meet with the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum, which provides recommendations to the nations' governments on trade and investment priorities.

Brazil has recently announced a series of measures to boost economic growth and rein in its overvalued currency, including slashing interest rates and levying taxes on short-term currency inflows.

Rousseff has accused Europe and the United States of waging a "currency war" that has hurt domestic industry.

She is scheduled head to Massachusetts on Tuesday to meet with the state's governor and speak to students and scholars at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brazil's foreign ministry said in a statement.

CNN

 
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