Brazil Government Zeroes Import Duty on Needles and Syringes Until June

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Until mid-year 2021, syringes and needles from other countries will enter Brazil duty free. The Executive Committee of the Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX) decided to zero the import tax until June 30th. The measure will help enhance the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Up to now, these products paid a 16% tax on entering the country. CAMEX has also suspended a surcharge on disposable syringes imported from China until the end of June.

Brazil has been implementing an anti-dumping measure – a sanction authorized by international standards when a country deems there is unfair competition to the domestic industry – on Chinese disposable syringes since 2009. Since 2015, the surcharge was set at US$4.55 per kilogram of imported merchandise.

With the two measures, the list of duty-free products to fight the Covid-19 pandemic increased to 303. Since March last year, CAMEX’s Executive Committee has been analyzing the Brazilian supply of healthcare products and promoting adjustments to the list based on the Ministry of Health’s assessment of the pandemic situation in the country. Up to now, 16 tax reduction decisions have been issued.

On Monday, January 4th, the Ministry of Health had requested manufacturers in Brazil to supply syringes and needles from surplus stocks for the future vaccination campaign against Covid-19.

Source: Agência Brasil

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