Brazil reduces tariffs on 100 imported goods effective October 1st.

The reduction in import tariffs presents a good opportunity for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the Brazilian market.

The Brazilian government has just announced a reduction in import taxes for 100 items, effective October 1, 2013, back to the original tax rates applied before September 2012.

In September 2012, in an effort to protect domestic production and mitigate the impact of the global economic downturn, Brazil decided to increase import tariffs on 100 industrial and manufactured goods starting at the end of September 2012, bringing the tariff rates on most imported goods to 25% for the past year.

The decision not to extend the aforementioned import tax increase is based on several current conditions aimed at stimulating industries that need to import raw materials, contributing to combating inflation, reducing production input costs, and also because the depreciation of the Brazilian Real against the USD has helped to limit imports.

Several key manufacturing sectors benefited significantly from the import tax reduction policy, including metallurgy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, equipment, transportation vehicles, tires, and construction materials.

The reduction in import tariffs presents a good opportunity for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the Brazilian market. Brazil is a large, promising market with a large population, offering ample room for Vietnamese goods to enter. Consumer purchasing power, import demand, and a preference for imported goods are constantly increasing. Furthermore, high input costs and the relatively weak competitiveness of Brazilian industrial consumer goods further stimulate imports.

On the other hand, with rising prices of imported goods from some Asian countries due to increased input costs, more and more Brazilian businesses are seeking more competitively priced Vietnamese goods. Brazil is a leading source market and supplier of raw materials such as: oil and gas, iron ore, cotton, textiles, tobacco raw materials, leather and footwear, sugar, alcohol, coffee, soybeans, meat, corn, and fruits.

Over the past 10 years, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Brazil has grown faster than most countries in the Asian region. According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the first six months of the year, the value of two-way trade between Vietnam and Brazil reached US$1,030.2 million, an increase of 31.2% compared to the same period last year (US$1.03 billion/US$0.78 billion). Of this, exports reached US$499.4 million, an increase of 57.6% compared to the same period last year, higher than the average export growth rate of Asian countries to Brazil (9%). With efforts to promote trade, it is estimated that bilateral trade will reach US$2 billion in 2013, with Vietnam's exports accounting for approximately US$1 billion.

According to VOV - LY