It is more than just the economic leader of Latin America. It is much of Latin America, with 52 percent of its land area and 55 percent of its people. Although foreign trade is a small share of Brazil's economy, the size of that economy means that its neighbors benefit from Brazilian growth. One-third of the exports of Argentina, for example, go to Brazil. Brazil is also central to Mercosur, which has been a major force for regional integration and trade liberalization.
Brazil is important to the United States.
It is our eleventh most important trading partner. In that connection, the Administration strongly supports the creation of a Free Trade Association of the Americas, and is working hard in the ongoing negotiations to make concrete progress toward that end. It used to be said that when the U.S. sneezed, Europe caught a cold. By the same token, events in Brazil are likely to have significance across all of the world's emerging markets. We saw that in events a year ago in the aftermath of the Russian financial collapse and in the period leading up to this year's devaluation.