Dr. Renata Vargas Amaral Appointed Secretary for Economic Affairs, Development, External Finance and Regional Integration of Brazil
AUWCL is proud to announce that Dr. Renata Vargas Amaral has been appointed in January 2023 as Secretary for Economic Affairs, Development, External Finance and Regional Integration of Brazil. She will head this strategic Secretariat as part of the Ministry of Planning and Budget. Renata has taught at AUWCL since 2019 and she coordinated the trade summer institute offered in 2000, 2021 and 2022 jointly with AUWCL Professor Padideh Ala’i. She is an experienced international trade lawyer, with an extensive and proven record of successful engagement at the World Trade Organization (WTO), bilateral and regional trade negotiations, domestic trade policy and market access. Over the course of her fifteen-year career, has advised governments and private stakeholders on international trade matters, with a focus on WTO law. She served as Adjunct Professor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she co-directed the certificate program on WTO and US Trade Law and Policy.
She also served as trade and good regulatory practices staff lead of the InterAmerican Coalition for Regulatory Convergence of the Medical Devices Sector. She was Vice-Chair of the ABCI Institute - a non-profit organization of international trade scholars headquartered in Washington, D.C, and the founder of Women Inside Trade, a non-profit international organization that aims to contribute to the empowerment of women through its global network of professionals, specialized training and leadership development.
She has been a Visiting Professor and a regular guest lecturer in international trade law and policy in universities in Brazil, and her analyses and commentaries are regularly featured in the media in Brazil and the U.S., including CNN Brasil, Inter-American Dialogue, Reuters, Estado de São Paulo, VEJA, Exame and Época Negocios.
Dr. Amaral holds a Ph.D. from Maastrich University (the Netherlands), a title of Doctor of Laws and a LL.B. from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil), and a master from the Complutense Univerisity of Madrid (Spain).