Gov’t official says Brazil undergoing “reindustrialization”

After welcoming Congress members representing Brazil’s productive sector, Carlos da Costa, special secretary for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Economy Ministry, said Brazil is going through “a moment of reindustrialization.”

“We believe this is a trend, not an extraordinary event. After the industry’s participation in the 80s and after was reduced, we caught a glimpse of a prosperous future for Brazilian industry,” the secretary argued.

The meeting aimed to bolster ties and promote initiatives to boost productivity and competitiveness in the country.

The success of industrial growth is believed to come as a result of the elimination of some of the “distortions” in the Brazilian economy due to government measures aimed at fiscal balance. The efforts, da Costa said, made cutting interest possible, and, as a result, brought the exchange rate back to a “viable threshold, after decades.”

These measures, da Costa went on to say, also brought about “a downward trajectory in taxation on production and employment.” The size of the state apparatus, he argued, has been reduced by the government, which makes “decreasing the tax burden” possible.

The government chose to decrease, not increase, taxes on production, da Costa reported. After a government starts raising taxes, he said, fixed targets—plants, production units, and storage facilities—are eventually prioritized by the taxation system, in the absence of further options.

“We want to do the opposite: to cut taxes on production and employment, reduce taxation on industry and on those who make Brazil prosper,” he said. “We also have on the agenda the task of building a better business environment and improving productivity,” da Costa added.