United States/Brazil Relations: A Shared Commitment to Global Leadership

• Author: Clifford M. Sobel
• Position: United States Ambassador in Brazil
• Pages: 41-45

Page 41

With the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44^th President of the United States, we must consider the extraordinary opportunities our nations have to build deeper, enduring partnerships. Now is the time for a new era of regional cooperation. As President Obama said, “Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world weleave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.”

As President Obama enters office, the partnership between the United States and Brazil is as strong as ever, and I believe there are boundless opportunities to deepen our bilateral, regional, and global efforts.

A few months ago, I made a speech, before the current market turmoil, but it certainly remains relevant. The remarks were on how Brazil can be “the best of the BRICs.”

In doing research on the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), I found that there was a follow-on study to the original designation of BRICs in 2001 by Goldman Sachs. The report was entitled, “Dreaming with the BRICs: The Path to 2050,” and the results were quite startling. In the report, Goldman Sachs speculated that on the current trajectory, within 40 years, by 2050, only two of the six G6 members will still be part of the G6: Japan and the United States. It further predicted that the other four will be Brazil, Russia, India and China – the BRICs.

So the question is: How does the United States work with the leading countries in the developing world, specifically Brazil? What are our opportunities for partnership in the future, and how do we make our relationship broader and deeper?

After World War II, the United States and its allies formed a new world order. Today, especially because of the current global financial situation, it is up to the developed world, and the BRICs, to do it once again, whether that group becomes the G-7, the G-13, or the G-20.

Today, no one region, no country, has the resources or the intellectual capital to deal with all of the issues that confront us. There is no monopoly on wisdom or creativity. And today, more than ever, Brazil and the United States are natural partners; not just because we are the anchors of the North and the South of the Western Hemisphere, but because Brazil increasingly has become a global leader.

Brazil and the United States are the two largest democracies in the hemisphere; we are both lands of immigrants, both melting pots, and we are both continent-sized nations. But we are also the two largest food producers in the world. Brazil will be one of the largest providers of energy, given the recent pre-salt discoveries, joining the United States in this role. We also have common interests in controlling global climate change, promoting social justice, and so many other issues.

I will never forget the quote of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her 2008 trip to Bahia: “I’ve always believed that Brazil and the United States look more like...