Brazilian Government prepares incentives to exportation
Folha de S. Paulo 01/30/2009
After backing on the decision of putting limits to importations, the Government now works towards the prevention of the deficit in the trade balance by means of incentives to exportations. The measures should include improvements in the financing conditions in order to increase the competitiveness of the Brazilian companies abroad and tax benefits that have already been requested by the Ministry of Development. Yesterday, the National Monetary Council (CMN, in Portuguese) took the first decision regarding that. The exporters that took loans based on the dollars they would receive with their external sales, the so-called ACCs (Advances against exchange contracts), and had their orders cancelled will have at least another year to pay the financing. The Government expects that with the new deadline until January of 2010, exporters can find other purchasers, make their shipment and receive the dollars to pay the bank. With that measure, exporters have automatically gained more time to pay their contracts with the financial institution, which was of up to 750 days (already including the 360 days for the shipment). The contract can now be ended until February, 2011. Since exporters will have the credit available longer, they will also pay more to the banks. According to Carvalho, the Government has no information of any exchange contract that has been cancelled because of the end of the deadlines. However, he affirmed that the export sector is concerned and has made a claim to the Government. The incentive to the exports was already being discussed at the meetings held at the Palácio do Planalto, where the official presidential office is located, since last week. The worsening in the result of the trade balance was discussed, but it ended up being run over by the decision of restricting the imports by means of the previous license. Folha verified that the definition of other incentives and tax releases will be carried out when the Government has more reliable projections on the fall in the 2009 tax collection. The assessment is that it should not hamper the Brazilian foreign sales because the period of peak in the exports begins in the second quarter, with the period of the harvest.