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The Brazilian industrial sector does not have any reason for concern with the further opening of the country's markets to manufactured goods from other countries, said Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan.
Minister Furlan talked about the subject while seeking to allay fears in the sector of an onslaught of cheap goods from abroad following the coming international trade talks in Hong Kong. Furlan went on to confirm that at the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong from December 13th to 18th, Brazil is presenting a proposal to open its markets to manufactured goods from the European Union in exchange for access to European markets for Brazilian agricultural products. But, said Furlan, "Our Hong Kong proposal is conservative. It does not create problems for Brazilian production. When we talk about opening markets we are talking about timeframes of five or ten years, with annual tariff reductions of 0.5% to 1%. There is no reason for anyone to start pushing the panic button because of this." Furlan pointed out that the extended timeframe would permit important adjustments, such as the placement of a more efficient interest rate policy with lower rates, improved infrastructure, less red tape at all levels of transactions and better customs processing. "All of these factors translate into higher levels of competitiveness. They reduce costs," said the Brazilian Minister. Agência Brasil
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