Brazil and the Other BRICs

The acronym BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has a peculiar history. A letter game created with the names of a group of countries gradually turned into an element of analysis of not only academic interest but also in the sphere of international politics.

This is an unprecedented case in which an acronym is converted into an expression of diplomatic and trade efforts.

For Brazil, this has prompted the need to broaden its knowledge of the other BRIC countries and realize the opportunities and challenges they offer in the design of negotiating strategies, in spite of their geographical distances.

In consequence, the ECLAC Office in Brasilia and the Institute of Applied Economic Research of Brazil (IPEA) conducted joint research on the main characteristics of the BRIC countries. The results are now included in the book “O Brasil e os demais BRICs – Comércio e Política”, organized and coordinated by the ECLAC Office in Brazil.

The book is a collection of seven articles by different authors and covers a variety of issues, among them:

• Brazil’s trade relations with the other three countries
• A comparative analysis of Brazilian and Chinese competitiveness in the United States market
• Trade liberalization in Brazil, China and India and their insertion in the world scenario
• Chinese investment in Latin America
• The potential of BRIC countries to emerge as decisive poles and actors in the world scenario.