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The United States and Brazil held the third meeting of the Group for Growth today in Washington, D.C. Creation of the Group was announced at the June 2003 meeting between President Bush and President Lula with the purpose of developing strategies to raise economic growth in both countries. The previous meetings of the Group were in August 2003 in Washington and April 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The meeting was co-chaired by John B. Taylor, Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury, and Joaquim V. Levy, Secretary of the Brazilian National Treasury. U.S. participants included Treasury Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Mark Warshawsky and Council of Economic Advisors member Harvey Rosen.
During the meeting, the delegations reviewed the macroeconomic outlooks and policy agendas for both countries. The participants noted the solid economic performance in Brazil and the United States. In Brazil, real GDP grew 6.1% for the year ending in the third quarter--the highest growth rate since 1996. In the United States, economic growth continues to be robust and the strong job market performance has continued with more than 2 million jobs created since the beginning of the year.
I am impressed by the strength of economic growth in Brazil, John Taylor said. Employment has risen sharply, real salaries are up, and investment is growing at record levels. It is clear that the Lula Administration's policies--particularly disciplined fiscal and monetary policies--are yielding positive results and creating jobs. I am struck by our shared focus on priorities like promoting savings and making the tax system more supportive of growth and job creation.
The Group for Growth is a very important part of our bilateral relations, Joaquim Levy said. We discussed Brazil's strong and steady progress on our ambitious reform agenda, including passage of bankruptcy reform yesterday. These reforms will lay the basis for continued rapid growth in investment and jobs as interest rates come down. We also had a useful exchange about developments in the mortgage market and growth in construction and home ownership in both countries.
The Group agreed to reconvene in Brazil in the second quarter of 2005. Under Secretary Taylor and Treasury Secretary Levy agreed to invite business people to the next meeting to discuss how best to promote innovation and research & development.