U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker named Eduardo Leite, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Baker & McKenzie LLP, as the new chair of the U.S. section of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum.
“Mr. Leite has served on the U.S. section of the CEO Forum for several years, and I am pleased that he has agreed to serve as Chairman,” said Secretary Pritzker. “His commitment and management in co-leading two of the CEO Forum’s subcommittees has been extremely valuable to the Forum. He understands that the U.S. and Brazil governments share a vision for making our relationship stronger and more dynamic through increased bilateral commercial and economic ties. I look forward to his leadership as we continue to deepen our partnership and examine ways to work together to advance the priorities of our two private sectors." The new U.S. section chair was named after the former chair, Ms. Patricia Woertz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Archer Daniels Midland Company, submitted her resignation from the role. However, Ms. Woertz will remain a member of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum, and Mr. Leite will complete the current three-year term, which ends on Aug. 13, 2016.
The Forum, comprised of up to 24 CEOs from the United States and Brazil, comes together to provide joint recommendations to the two governments on ways to strengthen the U.S.-Brazil economic relationship. Previous recommendations have advanced discussions between the United States and Brazil governments on important issues such as visa reform, customs procedures, education, energy, trade facilitation and infrastructure. The tenth meeting of the Forum is expected to be held later this year or early 2016.
In 2014, U.S. goods exports to Brazil totaled $42.4 billion. U.S. services exports to Brazil totaled $27.9 billion, an increase of 11 percent since 2012, making Brazil the United States’ ninth largest export market. Top U.S. exports to Brazil last year included chemicals, aerospace products and parts, and petroleum and coal products.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
