Port tariffs main obstacle to exports, CNI says

More than half of Brazilian exporters believe that the tariffs charged at ports and airports are a major problem to the sales of goods and services overseas. The issue is outlined in a survey dubbed Desafios à Competitividade das Exportações Brasileiras (“The Challenges Facing Competitiveness in Brazilian Exports”), published by Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry (CNI) today (Dec. 3). In the interviews, the second most critical item named by businesses is the difficulty offering globally competitive prices.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) from October 2017 and March this year. Most companies surveyed have been active in the international market for over ten years. For these enterprises, the US is still viewed as the most attractive partner for trade deals, followed by the European Union and Mexico.

According to Carlos Eduardo Abijaod, CNI’s director for Industrial Development, internal and structural issues have come out clearer in this year’s study, since the exchange rate has become more favorable to exports. “On one side, the government needs to tackle Brazil’s structural problems through reforms. On the other, companies have to invest in productivity and innovation,” he argued.

Critical problems

Tariffs at ports and airports are mentioned by 51.8 percent of businesses as a “critical” problem or as an issue with “considerable impact” on everyday negotiations. Higher productions costs—which undermine price competitiveness—is named by 43.4 percent of the firms interviewed.

Third in the survey (41.9 percent) comes the fees charged by watchdogs and agencies such as the Federal Revenue Service, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply, and the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

Further obstacles include company–port transport, red tape,  conflicting norms, and the high amount of taxes on exports.

“Regarding customs bureaucracy, issues regarded as critical by a significant number of businesses (27.3 to 35.6 percent) include the demand for original documents with a number of signatures, the lack of standardized protocol for red tape reduction, and the time it takes for release and monitoring measures,” the report reads.

CNI head Robson Braga de Andrade noted that, despite ranking among the world’s top economies, Brazil occupies the 26th position in exports, which represents less than two percent of global exports. “Factors like precarious infrastructure, bureaucracy, and complex norms make the export process in Brazil sluggish and expensive, making our products less and less attractive,” he wrote in the document.