This Independent Task Force finds that Brazil is a significant international actor whose influence on global issues is likely to increase and recommends that U.S. policymakers and others recognize its global standing and work with Brazil to develop complementary policies. This report is also available in Portuguese.

Latin America in general—and Brazil in particular—is coming to the forefront of U.S. policy challenges. In response to this situation, this blue-ribbon independent Task Force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations offers two recommendations: first, that the United States needs a focal point to its policy in South America and that Brazil become that focal point; and second, that President Bush move swiftly to establish a standing, high-level dialogue with Brazil on key issues ranging from drugs to trade, democratization, and combating terrorism and trans-regional crime.

This session was a meeting of the Emerging Powers in Global Health Governance roundtable series.

CFR Senior Fellow and Task Force Director Julia E. Sweig and Task Force member Donna J. Hrinak, former ambassador to Brazil, discuss the findings and recommendations of the CFR Task Force report, Global Brazil and U.S.-Brazil Relations.

President Obama's Upcoming Trip to South America and Opportunities to Strengthen The U.S.-South America Relationship

After emerging from the 2008 financial crisis relatively unscathed, Brazil's inevitable entrance into the club of major global powers is increasingly accepted. CFR's Stewart M. Patrick and Carlos Simonsen Leal of the Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation discuss Brazil's perspective on global finance and international security.

Donna Hrinak and Julia Sweig discuss the U.S.-Brazil bilateral relations and prospects for cooperation on a range of global challenges.

Following President Obama's first official visit to South America, Kellie Meiman Hock, Riordan Roett, and Julia E. Sweig discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with Brazil's rise, as well as the future of U.S.-Brazil relations.

Watch Brazil's former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso speak about his new memoir and the current relationship between the United States and Brazil.