The president of the CNI (Confederação Nacional da Indústria – National Confederation of Industry) urged the Brazilian government to implement safeguards against competition from Chinese merchandise that arrives in Brazil much cheaper than the domestic equivalents.
Monteiro affirms that the fact that China “maintains a fixed exchange rate, undervaluing its own currency, is detrimental to other countries’ ability to compete.” In the Brazilian case, according to him, the harm is greatest in the area of textiles and footwear.
A mission from the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade will be in Beijing from the 23rd to the 25th of this month to discuss various trade matters, including the question of footwear, textiles, and bicycle tires.
The Minister of Development will also travel to China at the end of the month to discuss bilateral trade, building on the understandings reached by the mission, which represents the Ministry’s Secretariat of Foreign Trade.
The president of the CNI said that regulation of the safeguards against Chinese imports, by means of three decrees that are under review by the Presidential Advisory Staff, “should have been determined prior to the minister’s trip, but he opted for the more prudent course of delaying the decision.”
A study by the CNI and the Center of Foreign Trade Studies Foundation (Funcex) revealed that Brazil has been losing ground to China in the chief consumer markets for Brazilian exports.
The president of the CNI affirmed that he has already presented his views to the ministers of Finance, Antônio Palocci, and of Development, Luiz Fernando Furlan.
Monteiro said that he criticized “the lack of consultations with the private sector over the negotiations with China.” The CNI also complained of “Brazil’s recognizing China as a market economy.” He claims that this “makes it harder to adopt antidumping measures against Chinese imports.”
Agência Brasil
