CNI proposes measures for Brazil to overcome the crisis and return to growth.

The industry has developed proposals for emergency and structural measures that are fundamental for the survival of companies, the maintenance of jobs, and sustained growth.

Since the beginning of last year, the industry has presented the federal government and the National Congress with several proposals for measures to address the serious health, economic, and social crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Several of these proposals – aimed not only at solving problems within the sector but also in Brazil as a whole – have been implemented and have helped thousands of companies survive and millions of jobs be maintained.

In the face of the second wave of the pandemic, which began earlier this year, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) has compiled 48 measures that the sector considers essential both for the country to overcome the current crisis and to begin a cycle of sustained growth.

" In the last decade, Brazil has grown, on average, only 0.3% per year. Therefore, returning to where we were before the crisis caused by the pandemic is not enough. But, to overcome the current crisis, the path is known ," assesses Robson Braga de Andrade, president of the CNI (National Confederation of Industry).

To overcome the crisis

It is essential that the government and Congress reinstate measures that were effective last year in preventing business closures and job losses. The 2020 crisis made it clear that, without the guarantee of financing from the National Treasury, small and medium-sized enterprises will not have access to credit.

Among the measures suggested by the industry is the resumption of the Emergency Credit Access Program (PEAC), which in 2020 loaned R$ 92.1 billion in 136,000 operations. It is also necessary to offer credit lines for working capital using resources from constitutional funds, the immediate reimbursement of federal taxes, and changes to the risk assessment criteria for new credit concessions to companies undergoing judicial reorganization.

In the labor area, two measures are already in effect. The main one was the re-issuance of the Emergency Program for Maintaining Employment and Income and the simplification, among others, of rules for the adoption of telework.

To grow again

To enable a cycle of sustained development, the industry advocates for speed in implementing structural action plans.

" It is vital, not only for the industry but for the country as a whole, that Congress approves several projects necessary for us to have greater and more consistent growth over the coming years, " says the president of the CNI.

The priority should be a comprehensive tax reform, encompassing the Federal Government, States, and Municipalities, along the lines of the proposal presented by the Joint Committee of Congress, which foresees the replacement of current taxes levied on consumption, such as PIS/Cofins, ICMS, ISS, and IPI, in addition to IOF, with a Value Added Tax, with a uniform rate for goods and services, a broad tax base, and shared revenue among the three levels of government.

" Implementing a broad, comprehensive, and total tax reform is crucial to increasing the competitiveness of national industry ," argues Robson Andrade.

Another urgent reform, the administrative one, must prioritize the efficiency of the public sector and address the growth of personnel expenses — federal government personnel expenses saw a real increase of 6.8% in 2019 compared to 2014.

The industrial sector also proposes that BNDES prioritize financing for industrial modernization and improve its structure responsible for financing exports.

The approval of the General Environmental Licensing Law, which will streamline environmental processes related to micro and small businesses. Currently, the bill is being processed in the Senate.

In the area of infrastructure, the main measures are the regulation of the new natural gas law, already approved; the approval of bills that foresee increased competitiveness in the electricity sector, with emphasis on the privatization of Eletrobras; the approval of the New Legal Framework for Railways; and the holding of auctions for the implementation of 5G networks.

In the area of innovation, it is crucial to release the funds from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).

Reproduction of an article from the Valor Econômico website.