Brazilian Digital Trade Laws Are Too Tight: OECD

The laws governing Brazilian digital trade are restricting domestic technology companies from increasing their share in trade, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned, urging the South American country to amend its rules.

In a report titled “Digital Trade Review of Brazil”, the international organization told Brazil to open up its economy and to not impose levies on imported ICT goods.

The number of Internet users in Brazil has multiplied threefold in the past 15 years, according to OECD. Nevertheless, the organization pointed out, trade barriers to foreign ICT products remain too high.

ICT goods, which account for about 9% of total Brazilian imports, face tariffs that are 9 to 10 percentage points higher than the global average.

Tech services imports, which accounted for 12% of Brazil’s services imports in 2020, also face significant regulatory barriers, according to the OECD report.

Brazil ranked 44th out of 48 countries in the OECD’s Trade Restriction Index (STRI) for computer services in 2020, a tool used by the organization which “identifies, catalogues, and quantifies cross-cutting barriers that affect services traded digitally”.

The OECD has urged Brazil to abide by the WTO’s IT agreement, which establishes zero import tariffs for a wide range of IT products.