Visit by the German Engineering Federation to Brazil: Shaping better conditions for bilateral cooperation

VDMA is an organisation that represents companies in the machinery and equipment sector in Germany and Europe. Its activities focus on representing technological and economic interests and establishing partnerships in innovation and industrial development.

On 5 November, they met with representatives from the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) and from the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Manufactures (ABIMAQ) as well as the German Consulate General and other government institutions.

The Mercosur-European Union Agreement

One of the topics of the exchange was the Mercosur-European Union agreement. The pact aims to integrate two of the world's largest economic blocs. In addition to commercial gains, the agreement reinforces a commitment to fundamental values such as democracy, multilateralism, human rights, and peaceful conflict resolution. The participants of the meeting highlighted the importance of the agreement as a framework for the Brazilian-German relations.

Digital transformation for greater market integration

However, the participants agreed that the agreement is yet to reach its full potential. A fundamental requirement for greater market integration is technological harmonisation, which allows different industries to operate jointly and in a connected manner. They identified the following aspects that will improve cooperation and that they want to jointly work on:

• Harmonisation of common standards: Shared technical standards are important so that systems from different countries and companies can communicate without barriers.
• Creation of industrial data spaces: Data spaces and trusted data flow are essential to enable traceability throughout the entire production chain, ensuring transparency and efficiency from raw materials to the final product.
• Industrial modernisation: For the direct connection of production chains, both Brazil and Germany need to further digitalise and modernise their industrial areas.