THE CNI (National Confederation of Industry) prepared a list of 10 things that the next president can do to expand Brazil’s international integration. Currently, the country has been losing its share of world exports from the manufacturing industry.
In 2010, Brazil had a 1.05% share of world exports from the manufacturing industry. CNI estimates that this presence has dropped to 0.78% in 2020, which represents the worst performance since the beginning of the series, in 1990.
In addition, products of medium and high technological intensity have lost space in Brazil’s export basket – since 2010, the share of these categories in relation to total exports has fallen by 8.9 percentage points (pp), reaching 14.2% in 2021, the lowest in the last decade. The studies were delivered to candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in a package of industry proposals for the coming years.
In 1997, the manufacturing industry accounted for 81% of the value of foreign sales, a share that dropped to 51% in 2021. The performance of the industry is a cause for concern because it is the sector with the greatest technological diffusion, impact on production chains, collection and production of wealth. For the country. Every BRL 1 produced in the industry generates BRL 2.43 in the economy. In addition, Brazilian industry accounts for 68% of business investment in research and development.
The president of CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade, says that the integration of Brazil into the world is essential to ensure the resumption of economic growth and stimulate the technological development and productivity of the national industry in the post-pandemic period.
“Countries and companies inserted in global and regional chains are more innovative, produce more efficiently, create better quality jobs and produce more wealth for the whole society”he said.
The studies integrate Industry Proposals for the 2022 Elections, which the CNI gave to candidates for the Presidency of the Republic. The analyzes related to the proposals below are in the documents International integration: openness with competitiveness and Exports: a world ahead.
Here is the CNI list:
- revitalize Mercosur’s economic and trade agenda
The CNI defends the elimination of restrictive measures and barriers in the bloc’s trade flows; the deepening of the services agreement, aligning the rules in the bloc with the commitments assumed in the Mercosur-European Union Agreement; the internalization of the Mercosur Public Procurement Protocol and the Mercosur Trade Facilitation Agreement, which are being processed in the National Congress.
- conclude, expand and/or internalize agreements with strategic markets for the country
The CNI defends that an expansion of the Brazilian presence in international trade involves the internalization of the agreements concluded with the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the expansion of trade agreements in Latin America, such as the conclusion of negotiations of a free trade agreement between Brazil and Mexico and the launch of free trade negotiations with Central American and Caribbean countries.
In extra-regional trade negotiations, the CNI also defends the resumption of negotiating rounds for the trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada, the launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the United Kingdom, the start of exploratory dialogue with northern countries from Africa, such as Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia, with a view to free trade agreements; and the deepening of Mercosur’s trade agreements with Egypt and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
- expand and improve the network of agreements to avoid double taxation (ADTs), following the OECD Model Convention
The CNI defends the negotiation of new ADTs, as a priority, with Germany, Australia, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay and the United Kingdom; defend the review of ADTs with South Africa, Chile, China, France, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru and Turkey, to reduce the tax burden on royalties, interest, dividends and capital gains transactions, primarily along the lines of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development); defend changes in Brazil’s negotiating stance on ADTs, eliminating source taxation on services that do not involve technology transfer.
- strengthening export financing
Competitive exports require official credit mechanisms for the operation, which help companies deal with exchange rate uncertainty, political risk and financial support from foreign governments for exports by their own companies, says the entity.
CNI defends the reform of the export financing and guarantees system, with priority to the improvement of its governance, implementation of an Export Credit Insurance operator and restructuring of the funding and expansion of funding sources for export financing and equalization.
- complete the implementation of the Single Foreign Trade Portal and promote the full integration of consenting and intervening bodies
According to the CNI estimate, the conclusion of the implementation of the Single Portal could result in an accumulated GDP gain of around US$ 124 billion and US$ 92 billion in the Brazilian trade flow by 2040.
- simplify and reduce port fees and eliminate abusive port charges
For the industry, abusive practices and costs in international cargo transport directly impact the prices and competitiveness of products exported by Brazil.
- strengthen the Brazilian fight against dumping practices and industrial subsidies in third markets
To extract the best benefits from international integration, Brazil needs to protect itself from unfair dumping and subsidies practices, which violate WTO (World Trade Organization) rules.
“This is the way all major economies operate, balancing the checks and balances of economic liberalization with the proper use of trade defense instruments”says the CNI.
The CNI defends the improvement of the public interest assessment system, so that it becomes exceptional and balanced, and the updating of global and bilateral safeguards instruments, through the publication of a new Safeguards Decree, in order to facilitate the use of the instrument and make it more effective.
- improve the Brazilian labor expatriation law, through the approval of Bill 3,801/2019
Brazil is the only major economy that applies the so-called extraterritoriality in its labor expatriation legislation, imposing its rules on this topic in other territories. This practice causes insecurity and double taxation of social security charges, so it is necessary to improve the current Brazilian law. CNI defends the improvement of the Brazilian labor expatriation law, through the approval of PL 3.801/2019.
- design and implement a national strategy for overcoming barriers
The industrial sector proposes that a committee on trade and investment barriers be created by the government and that an annual report be published on the main barriers identified and the measures taken to overcome them.
- create a “country brand” program
“Brazil needs to improve its international reputation and position itself internationally by strengthening and consolidating a “country brand” in common use by the federal government and the private sector.”
#CNI #lists #items #government #international #area