Industry is essential to leverage the country’s economic development, says economist

Economist Jackson De Toni stated that the industrial sector is essential in generating employment and income and for the country’s economic development. The statement was made during a public hearing at the Commission for Industry, Commerce and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, to discuss the reindustrialization of Brazil in the face of the new economy and the decarbonization of the matrix.

“Industry, compared to agribusiness and the service sector, generates proportionally more taxes, invests more in innovation, generates more qualified jobs, contributes to a more equitable income distribution profile and, therefore, we cannot give up on a project of reindustrialization”, says De Toni.

For the economist, “industry is always a lever of economic growth because it is more linked, generates more investment experiences, opportunities and structural transformations, improving, impacting the quality of life.” De Toni defends the need for a strategic policy for the resumption of Brazilian industry, with a coordination structure in which the public and private sectors can dialogue and exchange experiences.

At the audience, the Industrial Policy manager of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), Samantha Ferreira e Cunha, presented the Industry Resumption Plan, which proposes four policy missions aimed at the sector to resume growth in Brazil: decarbonization; digital transformation; health and health security; and defense and national security. Samantha Cunha argues that the country needs an industrial development plan built on modern bases.

“Brazil needs to have an industrial development plan that takes into account all these trends, which is built on modern bases so that the country does not fall even further behind in the race for competitiveness, so that it can reduce the gap between developed countries and that we can reduce social inequalities and increase economic growth”, he highlights.

In the document, the CNI defends themes such as the approval of the tax reform; the guarantee of funding for innovation; reduce bureaucracy, facilitate and modernize Brazilian foreign trade; guarantee the supply and reduce the price of natural gas; the modernization of the electricity sector; accelerate Brazil’s accession process to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); among other points. Samantha Cunha points out that the country needs a more competitive business environment.

“For us to achieve greater integration in global chains, we need to create a more competitive business environment. We need to reduce the distance we have, our institutional and economic problems, to mention the most important one at the moment, which is our complex, costly and distorting tax system. These are institutional economic problems that generate disadvantages for our companies, which make our products more expensive”, he points out.

Sustainable Growth

According to the deputy secretary of the Industrial Development Secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), Felipe Augusto Machado, Brazil cannot be left behind in terms of sustainable growth. He highlights the country’s territorial extension and natural wealth and says that, on the next Industry Day (May 25), the government will begin discussions with the private sector to define the industrial policy that will be in force in the coming years.

“At the end of this month, we will have the kickoff of the National Council for Industrial Development, on May 25, where we will begin to discuss and elaborate, together with civil society, the private sector, what will be the new industrial policy for the coming years. The idea is to work with mission-oriented policies and think the industry from these policies to try to solve the biggest challenges of Brazilian society”, he points out.