Brazil Said to Aim for 40% Cut in Manufactured Goods Trade Gap

Brazil is looking to cut its trade deficit in manufactured goods by about 40 percent by 2014 as part of President Dilma Rousseff’s industrial policy to combat the effect of a strong currency and a surge in Chinese imports, a government official said.

Rousseff’s policy, which will be presented today, aims to help textile manufacturers and other industries hurt by the real’s 48 percent rally since the end of 2008 and a flood of Chinese-made goods during that time, said the official, who asked not to be named because the policy hasn’t been made public.