The Brazilian Government adopted new procedures to control import tariff quotas provided for by trade agreements with member countries of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), through Ordinance No. 108/2021.
The measure of the Secretariat of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy, published in the Official Gazette of the Union on Thursday (26.08.2021), impacts the Imports of automobiles and automotive products originating in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay subject to negotiated tariff rate quotas, included in the 44th Additional Protocol to the Economic Complementarity Agreement 14 (ACE 14), the 1st Additional Protocol to ACE 74, and the 76th Additional Protocol to ACE 2. As of September 2, these operations are exempt from the import license requirement under the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. ( Secex ). In these cases, the control of operations by the Secretariat is carried out after the imports have been cleared.
The adoption of post-controls, without the requirement of the prior license that was issued by Secex, will speed up the import process and reduce costs., which will benefit Brazilian importers and consumers. According to the Ministry, The measure seeks to streamline trade, reduce bureaucracy and lower the costs of vehicle imports from Mercosur.
“This initiative is in line with Brazil’s commitments in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and is part of the agenda to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in government action in foreign trade matters,” said Foreign Trade Secretary Lucas Ferraz in the statement.
The ministry clarified that trade facilitation will not harm Brazilian producers because the three partners will have to continue to comply with the agreements that govern trade in the automotive sector with Brazil, including quotas.
Another change implemented concerns the import tariff quota for rice originating in Suriname. Due to the change in the guidelines for filling out Import Declarations (DI) by the Special Secretariat of Federal Revenue of Brazil, it became necessary to make adjustments to the procedures for providing information in import license applications corresponding to these specific operations.
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