Importations aimed at reexportation to be facilitated
Valor Econômico - 03/18/2008
This year the government intends to change the rules for the authorization of drawbacks, the importation of products aimed at the production of goods for exportation. "We will simplify the drawbacks, reduce waiting periods and paperwork", says the secretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Development Welber Barral. The measure, as well as other decisions on the simplification of the foreign trade, will be preceded by public consultations and will be part of the new industrial policy, he says. Also in April, the government may start the "DrawbackWeb", a system through which the application for drawbacks will be made through the Internet, and will be automatically compared with exportation permits. Today, due to bureaucratic reasons, even large exporters fail to inform the government that part of the exported goods uses components imported through the drawback system, which leads to processes and fines against these companies. Concerning the importation of used goods, however, the changes that may allow the importation of secondhand consumption goods is out of question. He remembers that, as a general rule, the importation of used material in Brazil is forbidden, but there are exceptions, for capital goods (machinery and equipment for the industry) which are not produced in the country, parts and components, manufacturing units and containers. The government wants to regulate this type of commerce, in order to update the Brazilian legislation that is considered outdated, but it has to take into account that the issue is the target of negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO), where countries such as the United States want the full liberation of this type of importation, and nations like Brazil defend a selective liberation.