Brazil’s Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex) of the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade approved, today, the final text on Brazilian safeguards to curb abusive entry of Chinese products into the country.
The text, which won unanimous approval, will be submitted to the Presidential Civilian Advisory Staff within 15 days and should be transformed into two decrees, for which the effective dates have not yet been determined.
After the decrees go into effect, the sectors that feel they are being harmed by the growth of Chinese imports should file complaints with the Ministry’s Department of Commercial Protection (Decom). The barriers that will be imposed will depend on each case.
Despite the formalization of legislation that permits the use of safeguards, the decrees allow the possibility of a friendly solution, without the need for applying the new law.
A work group composed of Brazilian and Chinese officials and representatives of both countries’ industrial sectors will get together to analyze the complaints.
The Chinese can propose measures to limit Chinese exports to Brazil, without there being a need to apply the safeguards. The work group will have 30 days to reach an agreement in its negotiations.
“The advantage of this process is the speed: It is easier to reach a preliminary agreement and thus be able to bar immediately what we refer to as an invasion of Chinese products,” observed the secretary of the Camex, Mário Mugnaini.
If no solution is reached, Brazil can impose a “temporary safeguard,” which can last up to three months, the period during which the complaint of abusive entry of Chinese products will be analyzed by the Decom.
If the complaint is substantiated, the safeguard will be imposed for the period of one year, for textile products, and two years, with the option of a one-year extension, for other products.
ABr – www.radiobras.gov.br
