According to a report developed by Credit Suisse, Brazil has the most closed economy among emerging markets. The investment bank states that the reason is the fall in the commercial flow (exportations and importations), high taxes for importations, the absence of new commercial agreements during the past few years, and the elevated number of non-tax barriers the country has adopted.

During the 12 months of 2016, Brazil had the lowest level of foreign trade flow among the 21 emerging countries analyzed.

The addition of exportations and importations reached 18.8% of the GDP, below the 20.6% of Argentina and way lower than the average 60% of emerging economies and 38% of Latin American countries, according to figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

During 2016, the commercial flow of Brazil drop even more, reaching 18.2% of the GDP. “Brazil’s trade with the rest of the world followed the global economic cycle during the past few years”, says the report. The strong global boost registered during the 2003-2011 period made Brazil’s commercial flow to grow an average rate of 20% per year. However, with the beginning of the standstill (originated in 2012), Brazil’s trade with the rest of the world decreased an average of 6.5% per year.

Between 2003 and 2011, Brazil’s participation in the global trade grew from 0.8% to 1.3%. This participation rate started to decrease in 2012, reaching 1.1% by 2015, according to the Bank.