And of the works of the authors themselves

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0103-6351/3255 

Nova Economia_Belo Horizonte_25 (3)_477-500_setembro-dezembro de 2015

Roberto Simonsen and the Brazil-

U.S. 

Trade Agreement of 

1935

: 

economic ideas and political action

Luiz Felipe Bruzzi Curi*

Danilo Barolo Martins de Lima**

Abstract

In this paper we identify elements that reveal 

the specificity of Roberto Simonsen’s economic 

thought and his singular interpretation of 

Brazilian economic history, based on documents 

related to the debate held in Congress when the 

Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement was signed, in 1935. 

We have verified how in a concrete political 

struggle Simonsen used diverse theoretical 

references in order to support his arguments and 

how at the same time this participation in the 

political scene contributed to the formation of 

his economic thought. Simonsen’s appropriation 

of the ideas of two German authors, namely 

Adolph Wagner and Karl Rodbertus, is analyzed 

by means of the study of Simonsen’s quotations 

and of the works of the authors themselves. 

Simonsen’s participation in the debates 

around the Trade Agreement is of a particular 

character, because of the consistent manner 

in which he defended class interests, resorting 

to the works of international economists and 

to well-informed historical digressions. This 

differentiates Simonsen from other industrialists, 

his colleagues, who defended industry based on 

moral arguments.

Resumo

Identificamos, neste trabalho, a partir da documen-

tação do debate travado acerca do Tratado Comercial 

Brasil-Estados Unidos, firmado em 1935, elementos 

que revelam a especificidade do pensamento econô-

mico de Roberto Simonsen e a sua particular interpre-

tação da história econômica do Brasil. Objetivamos 

verificar como, numa situação concreta de embate 

político, Simonsen mobilizou referenciais teóricos di-

versos, a fim de embasar seus argumentos e como, ao 

mesmo tempo, tal atuação na arena política teria con-

tribuído para conformar seu pensamento econômi-

co. A apropriação das ideias de dois autores alemães 

– Adolph Wagner e Karl Rodbertus – são analisadas, 

a partir das citações feitas por Simonsen e das obras 

dos respectivos autores. A forma mais consistente de 

defender interesses econômicos de classe, baseada em 

economistas internacionais e em excursos históricos 

bem informados, reveste a participação de Simonsen, 

no debate parlamentar em torno do Tratado, de um 

caráter particular, que o diferencia de seus colegas 

industriais, que faziam uma defesa da indústria mais 

baseada em argumentos morais. 

Keywords

Roberto Simonsen, 

Adolph Wagner, Karl 

Rodbertus, 

U.S.

-Brazil 

Trade Agreement 1935

JEL Classification

B20, B31, N46.

Palavras-chave

Roberto Simonsen, Adolph 

Wagner, Karl Rodbertus, 

Tratado Comercial Brasil-

EUA

 1935

Classificação JEL

B20; B31; N46.

*PhD candidate in Economic History, 

Universidade de São Paulo (USP),  

São Paulo, SP.

** PhD candidate in History, Freie 

Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

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Roberto Simonsen and the Brazil-U.S. Trade Agreement of 1935 

Nova Economia_Belo Horizonte_25 (3)_477-500_setembro-dezembro de 2015

478

1_Introduction

When we set out to study the economic thought of 

a “practical intellectual” such as Roberto Simonsen 

(1889-1948), we need to take into consideration, not only 

his written works, but also the multiple dimensions of 

his participation in the public sphere. Simonsen acted 

as a leader of industrial class associations, such as the 

Center for Brazilian Industries [Centro das Indústrias 

do Brasil](

CIB

) and the Federation of Industries of the 

State of São Paulo [Federação das Indústrias do Estado 

de São Paulo

]

(

FIESP

), he was professor at the Free School 

for Sociology and Politics[Escola Livre de Sociologia 

e Política] of São Paulo, participated in governmental 

councils and institutions and was also active as a class-

representative of the industrial employers in the Brazilian 

Congress, during the constitutional period of the Vargas 

administration (1934-1937). 

This last aspect of Simonsen’s life is one of the less 

well-studied, especially in what concerns the relations 

between his role as a congressman and the formation of 

his own economic thought in this short though fertile 

period of Brazilian republican history. In the various 

debates in which he took part, as a class-representative 

in the Chamber of Deputies of the Brazilian Congress, 

Simonsen brought with him the contents of his readings 

and researches in economic theory and economic  

history. At the same time, political experiences 

contributed to refine his ideas and arguments in favor  

of State-led industrialization.  

One of those decisive moments, in which Simonsen 

publicly presented his ideas, was the debate surrounding 

the ratification of the Trade Agreement between Brazil 

and the United States signed in February 1935. This 

Agreement was seen by Brazilian industrial leaders as 

harmful to the interests of national industry, since it 

consisted of a free-trade treaty, which encompassed tariff 

reductions for goods imported from the 

U.S.

, especially 

manufactured goods.

As a representative of the industrial class in Congress, 

Simonsen was one of the main participants in this 

debate, asserting his position firmly, with recourse to 

his theoretical background. He intended to demonstrate 

with arguments of “scientific nature” that the so-called 

“national interests” – which he attempted to identify  

with those of national industry – would be threatened 

by the Agreement. In his speeches in the floor of the 

Chamber of Deputies, especially on September 9th, 10th 

and 11th 1935, it is possible to perceive elements of his 

economic thought, among which influences of  

nationalist ideas of German lineage.

The analysis of those influences can help to 

understand the process of international diffusion of 

economic ideas, which is a valuable procedure in the 

effort to construct a history of Brazilian economic 

thought. This sort of historical approach presupposes 

that we apprehend economic thought in a perspective 

that is distinct from a “history of economic analysis” in 

a Schumpeterian sense (

SCHUMPETER

, 1981 [1954]): rather 

than the analytical aspects, what matters here is the study 

of economic ideas as related to concrete political and 

ideological conflicts. In the case of the study of Roberto 

Simonsen’s economic thought, forged by multiple 

references and amidst political debates inside 

FIESP

,  

the Chamber of Deputies and in Federal Technical 

Advisory Councils, such a perspective has proved to  

have a rich potential.

1

José Luís Cardoso presents three fundamental 

attributes that justify the study of the international 

diffusion of ideas. The first would be a deeper 

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