摘要：The analysis of the external sector allows us to understand the connection between the regional productive structures of a country (on different scales) and the global economy. At the same time this also helps us understand how intra- and inter-regional economic relations are defined and redefined. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of increased internationalization of the productive structure in the performance of regional and urban economies after 1990, with particular emphasis on the period following 2002, when Brazil's economy began to grow again, driven by the dynamics of global trade, especially factoring in the influence of China. The results show that the type of commercial integration of the country – marked by the predominance of primary exports and a declining manufacturing industry - has strengthened the process of productive decentralization, through a greater exploitation of the mineral resource base and the incorporation of new areas of the agricultural frontier for capitalist accumulation, especially in Northern, Midwestern and Northeastern Brazil.
