Miguel Braun
Miguel Braun in 2015
Secretary of Economic Policy of the Argentine Republic
In office
4 october 2018 – 9 september 2019
Preceded byGuido Sandleris
Succeeded bySebastián Katz
Secretary of Commerce of the Argentine Republic
In office
10 december 2015 – 4 october 2018
Preceded byAugusto Costa
Succeeded byIgnacio Werner
Personal details
Born (1973-11-30) 30 November 1973
Buenos Aires,  Argentina
Political partyRepublican Proposal
Residence(s)Washington, D.C., United States
Alma materUniversity of San Andrés
OccupationEconomist

Miguel Braun Cortés (born November 30, 1973) is an Argentine economist and policymaker who served was Secretary of Commerce of the Ministry of Production (2015–2018) and Secretary of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Finance (2018–2019) of the Argentine Republic.

Biography

Braun holds a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in Economics from University of San Andrés.[1] He graduated with honors in 1996.[2]

He continued his postgraduate studies in the United States. He obtained a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.[2][3]

Between 2000 and 2003 he was a member of the Academic Council of Universidad of San Andrés, as well as a professor of Economic Policy, Banking Theory and Macroeconomics. He also worked as a professor at the Torcuato di Tella University and at the University of Buenos Aires.[2][4]

Professional activity

In 2000, he was co-founder of CIPPEC (Center for the Implementation of Public Policy for Equity and Growth), where he worked as Director of Fiscal Policy (2000–2006) and executive director (2007–2010).[5]

He has served as an economic consultant to the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, CELAC, UNICEF and the Ministry of Economy (Argentina), among others.[2][6][7][8][9]

Between 2010 and 2015 he served as the executive director of Pensar Foundation.[10][11]

In February 2013, he was appointed as Director of Bank of the City of Buenos Aires, a position he held until December 2015.[12][2]

Political career

On December 10, 2015, was appointed Secretary of Commerce of the Argentine Republic, a then dependent body of the Ministry of Production. He held this position until October 4, 2018. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing trade policies, negotiations and regulations, and competition and consumer protection measures.[13]

One of the main priorities of the Mauricio Macri administration was to open up Argentina's economy to international trade.[14]

Braun also focused on consumer protection issues. He worked to improve consumer rights and ensure that businesses adhered to fair trade practices. He played a role in the formulation and promotion of competition law reforms in Argentina.[15]

Miguel Braun was actively involved in the negotiations surrounding the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement.[16]This agreement aimed to establish a free trade zone between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). The agreement, which had been under negotiation for many years, was seen as a significant achievement during his time as Secretary of Commerce. It was intended to open up new markets for Argentine exports and strengthen economic ties between the two regions.[17]However, the agreement also faced challenges and controversy. "It is true that the agreement will make us compete with the best, but the agreement gives us room to maneuver," Braun said on Twitter.[18]

VUCE (Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior – Single Window for Foreign Trade) is a digital platform aimed at simplifying and streamlining foreign trade procedures in Argentina. Miguel Braun's work involved supporting the development and implementation of VUCE, which was designed to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency in international trade processes.[19][20]

During Miguel Braun's tenure, trade negotiations with the United States included discussions related to steel and aluminum trade, as well as broader trade issues. In 2018, the U.S. President, Donald Trump, imposed tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports. However, the Argentine government initiated negotiations to secure an exemption from these tariffs, a benefit currently enjoyed by Mexico and Canada.[21]To pursue this exemption, Miguel Braun traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. authorities.[22][23]

Some of the policies advocated by Miguel Braun and the Macri administration were met with resistance and controversy.[24]For example, the removal of export taxes on agricultural products led to protests from some sectors of the main opposition.[25][26]

On 4 October 2018 he was appointed Secretary of Economic Policy, a position he held until 9 September 2019.[27][28][29][30]

Braun was part of the economic team that implemented a series of economic reforms aimed at stabilizing the Argentine economy. These reforms included efforts to reduce inflation, fiscal deficits, and government intervention in the economy. "We haven’t improved, but the foundations of the economy and society are much healthier", Braun explained to the New York Times in 2019. "Argentina is in a better place to generate a couple of decades of growth."[31]

Current

Between 2020 and 2021, he worked as an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School's Growth Lab.[32]

He is currently a senior advisor in the Americas Programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Senior Consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank.[33]

Books

  • Braun, Miguel (2005). La coparticipación en su laberinto (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Buenos Aires: CIPPEC, IAE & UNLP. ISBN 9872014248. – with Atilio Elizagaray, Juan Llach and Alberto Porto.
  • Braun, Miguel (2006). Macroeconomía Argentina (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Buenos Aires: Alfaomega. ISBN 9789872311308. – with Lucas Llach.
  • Braun, Miguel (2006). Cada cual ¿atiende su juego? El rol del Congreso Nacional en el proceso presupuestario en la Argentina (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Buenos Aires: CIPPEC. ISBN 987201423X. – with Luciana Díaz Frers and Gerardo Uña.
  • Braun, Miguel (2018). Macroeconomía Argentina (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Buenos Aires: Sudamericana. ISBN 9789500760669. – with Lucas Llach.

Awards and recognitions

References

  1. ↑ "Nuestros graduados". Universidad de San Andrés (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Miguel Braun CV" (PDF). Instituto de Estudios sobre la Realidad Argentina y Latinoamericana (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  3. ↑ "Miguel Braun". Harvard Club de Argentina (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ↑ "Fiscal Rules for Subnational Governments. Some organizing principles and Latin American experiences". Ideas. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  5. ↑ "Miguel Braun". CIPPEC (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  6. ↑ "IDB seminar: Latin America must devise comprehensive programs to protect workers during hard times". IDB. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  7. ↑ "¿Para qué sirven las reglas fiscales?: un análisis crítico de la experiencia argentina". CEPAL (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  8. ↑ "Strengthening Argentina's Integration in the Global Economy" (PDF). World Bank Group. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  9. ↑ "Quién es Miguel Braun". iProfesional. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  10. ↑ "El remedio es peor que la enfermedad". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  11. ↑ "Infraestructura, esa idea política". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  12. ↑ "Memoria 2015" (PDF). Banco Ciudad (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  13. ↑ "Argentina elimina aranceles de importación para insumos y bienes tecnológicos". Reuters (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  14. ↑ "Argentina Returns to Global Debt Markets With $16.5 Billion Bond Sale". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  15. ↑ "Anticipan un clima inversor con la futura ley de defensa de la competencia". Télam (in Spanish).
  16. ↑ "Acuerdo comercial entre UE y Mercosur podría estar listo en dos años: Argentina". Télam (in Spanish).
  17. ↑ "Mercosur-European Free Trade Association Agreement" (PDF). Inter-American Developement Bank (IDB).
  18. ↑ "EU, Mercosur strike trade pact, defying protectionist wave". Inter-American Developement Bank (IDB).
  19. ↑ "Finding Our Way Through the Border Labyrinth". Inter-American Developement Bank (IDB).
  20. ↑ "Argentina: Strategic Trade Agenda" (PDF). Argentine Embassy in Japan.
  21. ↑ "Macri calls Trump to exempt Argentina from US steel tariff". S&P Global.
  22. ↑ "U.S. Allies Brace for Trade War as Tariff Negotiations Stall". New York Times.
  23. ↑ "Trade envoy Braun optimistic US will drop aluminium, steel tariffs". Buenos Aires Times.
  24. ↑ "G-20 Host Argentina Struggles to Shake Off Protectionist Past". Bloomberg.
  25. ↑ "Argentina axes disputed grain and beef export controls". BBC.
  26. ↑ "Argentina to Remove Export Taxes on Some Agricultural Products". The Wall Street Journal.
  27. ↑ "Miguel Braun será el nuevo secretario de política económica". Perfil (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  28. ↑ "Miguel Braun será el nuevo secretario de política económica". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  29. ↑ "Miguel Braun is named new Secretary of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Treasury". Ministry of Economy (Argentina). Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  30. ↑ "Banking Essentials Newsletter: 23rd August edition". S&P Global. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  31. ↑ "Argentina's Economic Misery Could Bring Populism Back to the Country". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  32. ↑ "Growth Lab". Harvard University (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  33. ↑ "Growth Lab". CSIS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  34. ↑ "Premios Konex – 2008". Fundación Konex (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-17.
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