How To Remit Foreign Currency To And From Brazil?*

I. - INTRODUCTION

In comparison to its neighbors such as Uruguay and Argentina, Brazil has strict exchange controls, even though more recent regulations enacted by the government are gradually freeing the exchange market.

Notwithstanding the above, the Brazilian government's exchange policy has somewhat changed in the last few years in the sense that a trend to loosen controls and finally eliminate government supervision is taking place.

II. - CURRENT EXCHANGE MARKETS

The Brazilian exchange market is divided into two major segments: a) the one, strictly controlled by the Central Bank; b) the other, which is a less formal market, where persons can freely buy and sell exchange, as long as they comply with certain identification requirements monitored by the Central Bank. It should be pointed out that another illegal market exists denominated as the "parallel" or "black-market. Such a market is duly prohibited under current laws in effect.