Representing Waelzholz, Andreas Reil, the Managing Director of our subsidiary in Brazil, took part in the 35th German-Brazilian Economic Forum in Porto Alegre. This was Waelzholz's first time actively participating in the annual economic forum, which is held jointly by the Brazilian and German Federation of Industries. Several hundred representatives from the fields of economics and politics meet in Germany and Brazil in an alternating fashion to debate the development of investments and new collaboration opportunities.
This year's discussion topics in the area of small to medium-sized companies included the cutback of trade barriers and bureaucracy as well as the Brazilian tax system. These factors obstruct trade between the two countries. As a representative of medium-sized companies, Reil made reference to the significance of export in the current crisis and the resulting issues for Brazilian SMEs. Their international competitiveness could be strengthened with improved basic conditions by the government as well as collaboration with Germany.
The subsequent discussion – led by Dr. Hildegard Stausberg – also covered training topics and answered questions from the audience. In 2018, the German-Brazilian Economic Forum will be held in Cologne.
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