Camex zeroes import tariffs on 25 inputs to fight the coronavirus

The Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex) has zeroed the Import Tax on 25 inputs, components and accessories used in the manufacture and operation of respirators and lung ventilators and protective masks. The tariff reduction was approved in a virtual meeting of the Camex Management Executive Committee (Gecex) on Wednesday (April 1st), in the context of trade policy measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aim of the measure, by reducing tariffs to zero, is to increase the supply of inputs for the national production of goods to fight the pandemic, reducing the costs for manufacturing these goods in the country and increasing their availability to the Brazilian health system. "The goods listed in the Single Annex of this Resolution will only have the Import Tax rate reduced to zero when used in the fight against Coronavirus/Covid-19", highlights the Gecex Resolution No 28/2020, published this Friday (April 3) in the Official Gazette of the Union.

This measure complements previous reductions adopted by Resolutions Gecex 17/2020 and 22/2020, which reduced the tariffs for 111 items used directly in the fight against the pandemic to zero.

The new reduction covers 22 Mercosur Common Nomenclature (NCM) codes, defined jointly by the Camex Executive Secretariat (Secamex), the Special Secretariat for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness (Sepec/ME) and the Internal Revenue Service, meeting demands from the Ministry of Health and the private sector. The tariffs, which reached 26%, will be zeroed by September 30, 2020.

The products listed range from fabrics for the manufacture of protective masks and metallic support for respiratory circuits, to micro gas mixers for lung ventilators, printed circuit boards and airflow or oxygen sensors for resuscitation respirators, as well as sensors for ventilators and lung complacency simulators to monitor ventilatory volumes and pressures.

Items such as motherboard, touch screen controller board, touch screen panel, LCD monitor and industrial microSD type memory card, motors, lead-acid and lithium batteries are also listed.

Other measures

Under the guidance of President Jair Bolsonaro and the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, a series of measures have been adopted in the area of foreign trade to ensure the supply of items essential to the fight against Covid-19, such as medical-hospital equipment, medication and personal protection equipment.

The measures are adopted by authorities such as the Special Secretary of Foreign Trade and International Affairs (Secint) and the Federal Revenue, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministries of Health and Justice, Anvisa and Inmetro.

In addition to the reduction to zero of the import tariffs of products against Covid-19, the following are highlighted:

>> The temporary suspension, for reasons of public interest, of antidumping duties on blood collection tubes and disposable syringes, as well as the requirement for non-automatic licensing in the import of these products.

>> Reduction to zero of the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI) for imported goods essential to the fight against Covid-19.

>> Simplification of import customs clearance to maintain a rapid flow of supply of essential items and avoid bottlenecks in customs facilities by speeding up delivery of cargo.

>> Non-automatic licensing in exports, for the government to monitor the supply and demand conditions of products used in the fight against the pandemic in the domestic market, allowing the export of only the surplus.

>> Elimination of import licenses for Secex, Inmetro and Anvisa essential products.

>> Simplification of requirements for the import of medical devices, in addition to the simplification of requirements for manufacturing and purchasing priority medical devices for use in health services, such as surgical masks, goggles and N-95 respirators.

Gecex Resolution number 28/2020 informs the complete list of inputs with zero Import Tax.