Chinese businessmen need to learn more about Brazilian laws to protect themselves in trade disputes, suggests a Chinese law expert working in Brazil.

"With the trade growing between China and Brazil, there have been more and more trade disputes, as Brazil is a federal country which has a quite complex legal system", Zhang Jun, a lawyer from a well-known Brazilian law firm, recently told Xinhua in an interview.

The bilateral trade between Brazil and China has reached 36.44 billion dollars and increased by 55.9 percents in 2008, according to the statistics released by the Brazilian government. China has become the second largest trading partner of Brazil.

Some Chinese companies send goods to Brazil without basic knowledge of Brazilian laws and regulations, as well as the credit status of their Brazilian partners, said Zhang who is from Noronha Advogados, the first Brazilian law firm setting up a branch in China

They are prone to suffer losses in trade disputes, he said.

"Even though some companies may take legal measures to protect their interests, lawsuits can last for years without any result," Zhang added.

In Brazil, laws in different states are not quite the same and different industries enjoy different treatment. "Chinese companies need to compare laws of different states in advance and choose the most suitable place," he suggested.

"Before setting up a company, they must do detailed market research and consult lawyers in order to avoid unnecessary loss," he warned, adding that in some cases foreign companies were victimized by the complex Brazilian taxation system.

For example, Zhang said, Sao Paulo is the biggest city in Brazil and the capital of Sao Paulo State, where a number of Chinese companies have their branches. If a Chinese company sell goods to Victoria, the capital of Espirito Santo State, Sao Paulo State will also claim tax on the goods.

"If companies are aware of this information and seek legal protection in advance, they may not have to suffer unnecessary losses due to these problems," Zhang said.

Source:Xinhua