The application of trade defense measures against Brazil has caused the country to lose US $ 1 billion per year in exports. The survey, informs “Agência Brasil”, was released last week by the Confederation of Industry (CNI), which took into account 13 tools applied against the country since 2015.
According to the analysis, when a measure is applied against a Brazilian product, exports of the good fall, on average, 86% in the next 12 months. The main trade defense measures applied against the country are the imposition of anti-dumping, anti-subsidy (or compensatory measures) and safeguards tariffs.
According to CNI, the sectors most affected are metals, with eight measures; of paper, with three measures, and sugar, with two measures. The report also shows that the application of trade defense instruments against Brazil has accelerated. The number of new measures increased from two in 2015 to six in 2016 and nine in 2017.
The United States is the country that most applied protectionist measures against Brazil in the period analyzed, with three commercial instruments on metal exports, one on paper and one on rubber.
The CNI suggests that the Brazilian government strengthen the trade defense system and monitor the products in which Brazil is competitive to anticipate the application of some instrument against the country. One of the recommendations is for the government to expedite the release of documents that investigated companies must hand over to other countries after a trade investigation is initiated.
The entity also suggests that the Brazilian government monitor whether the trade defense measure respects the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.