Government starts defining sectorial policies
Valor Econômico - 07/24/2008
The sectors of civil construction, machines and equipment for the industry and perfumes and cosmetics should be the first targets of the sectorial programs foreseen in the new industrial policy, aimed at increasing of the companies' competitiveness and exportations. Next Monday, the government will appoint the committees in charge of following up and guaranteeing the reaching the goals for each of the 25 sectors benefited by specific measures of the policy. The appointment starts, in fact, the execution of the sectorial policies, with the participation of the involved ministries. "We will define counterparts with the private sector. The government and companies shall take measures", foresees the secretary of Development of Production Armando Meziat, one of the coordinators of the sectorial policies. The naval industry, the automotive sector, footwear, plastics, wood and furniture are some of the 11 sectors that will have specific programs managed by the Ministry of Development. The government is debating with businesspeople the main obstacles for investments and production increase, strategic priorities, and production and exportation goals each sector will be committed to, in order to reach, among the objectives of the government, the goal of increasing the participation of the Brazilian exportations in the total international exportations from 1.18% in 2007 to 1.25% in 2010. According to Meziat, the sectors of industrial goods, civil construction and cosmetics and perfumes were the ones that advanced the most after the meetings with the government, and they already have proposals defined for the execution of the policy, which will be submitted to the committees in charge of managing the goals of the sectors. The steel sector also has fairly advanced discussions. In the debates with the private sector, the government identified demands, mainly for the review of the legislation that impairs the performance of the companies and the taking of decisions, proposals for training programs, requests for the information and adaptation of the existing funding programs and release of funds subject to contingency of the National Fund for the Scientific and Technological Development, instituted to encourage investments in science and technology, but which is partly blocked, in order to guarantee the surplus in the tax accounts. "The companies' requests will have to come together with studies, technical justifications", warns Meziat.