CICB attends emergency tariff meeting in Brasília
Brazil’s national representative body for the tanning industry, CICB, has confirmed that hides, skins and leather will be among the products that face a tariff level of 50% if exported to the US.
CICB was one of a number of organisations with connections to agribusiness that attended a meeting in Brasília on August 4 with government ministers to discuss the matter.
Business leaders that took part in the meeting urged the Brazilian government to continue negotiating with the US to reverse its decision to impose the steep tariff level, or at least put it back to the previously announced level of 10%.
They also requested a series of emergency measures to help exporting companies cope with the immediate economic effect of losing market share in the US.
CICB asked for a series of specific measures to help the leather industry. These included a request that already agreed tax relief measures be paid quickly.
It also asked for a programme called Reintegra to be expanded. This initiative allows exporting companies to claim a tax refund; CICB suggested that the percentage companies can claim be increased to 3%.
Another request from CICB at the meeting was for the government to set up lines of credit for companies with the publicly owned BNDES development bank. It suggested companies could use the money as working capital and pay it back with low interest rates of between 1% and 4% per annum.
Finally, it asked the government to bring back and improve a programme called PSE to support employment.
“We want to find solutions to help the Brazilian leather sector remain competitive and a stand-out contributor in international markets,” CICB said after the meeting. “But we also want there to be a specific focus on maintaining and expanding the commercial partnerships we have established in the US because it is such an important market for the whole of the Brazilian economy.”
The 50% tariff rate took effect on August 6.
Image shows the executive president of CICB, José Fernando Bello (third from the right), at the meeting.
CREDIT: CICB.
