The words globalize and globalization were not to appear in the English language until 1944. From the start, one of the Chamber s primary missions has been to promote trade and investment between Brazil and the United States. These have grown dramatically over the century, even discounting inflation. Many share the credit bureaucrats, businessmen and a host of NGOs. But undeniably, this Chamber has been a strong and steady advocate of the benefits that trade and investment bring to both countries.
Trade is a great builder of links.
Indeed, the century s most outstanding free trade pact, the European Community, was born of a political desire to so intermesh national economies that war could never again flourish. As nations increase their intercourse, so bilateral contentions may grow but like an athlete s aching muscles after a workout, these are a positive sign, not negative. And always, this independent Chamber has been there for both governments, a friend of both but the agent of neither, an informed and honest broker that is ready and willing to help weld stronger girders to the bridges that increasingly unite the two nations. A century ago, Brazil was a rural backwater. Some might argue that Brazil could have made more economic and social progress this century.