Brazilian economy

The following table shows the main economic indicators for the years 1980-2017. Inflation less than 5% is indicated by a green arrow. ^[12]

In 2003, the state program Bolsa Família launched aimed at reducing poverty in the country.

In December 2008, the President of Brazil signed a decree on the formation of a “sovereign wealth fund” of up to $ 6 billion, financed by a surplus of the state budget (up to 3.8% of GDP). The purpose of the fund is to provide investment for Brazilian companies in the face of the collapse of external credit sources.

In 2015, serious problems began in the Brazilian economy. The country's economy was in the center of pressure from three factors: the credit crisis in emerging markets, problems in China and changes in the US monetary policy. ^{[13] [14]} Brazil's GDP in 2015 fell by 3.8%, showing the worst dynamics since 1981, when the country's economy contracted by 4.4%. ^[15]

Brazil is usually divided into 5 economic regions .

• Northern
• Northeastern
• South
• Southeastern
• Central west

The most economically developed is the south-eastern region, where the main economic centers of the country are located - Rio de Janeiro , Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte . São Paulo is often called the locomotive that pulls the entire economy of Brazil. Southern is the main agricultural region of the country where rice, wheat and soy are cultivated. In the central western region, livestock dominates.

According to the CIA , in 2003, Brazil’s agriculture employed 20% of the country's working population ^[16] , and in 2011, 15.7% (estimated) ^[17] . In terms of agricultural exports, Brazil is in third place in the world; its share in world exports of these products is 6.1%. The share of agricultural products in Brazil's exports reaches almost a third.

Crops

Coffee is one of Brazil's main exports. In 2008, 2.79 million tons of coffee were harvested ^[18] . In its production, Brazil is in first place in the world. Brazil also ranks first in the world for the production of sugarcane , from which sugar and ethanol are used, which is used as fuel for cars. In 2008, 648 million tons of sugarcane were harvested ^[18] . Corn is also grown ( 59 million tons , two crops a year), rice ( 12 million tons ), wheat ( 5 million tons ), cocoa beans ( 208 thousand tons ), cotton ( 3.9 million tons ) and soybean ( 59.9 million tons ) ^[18] .

Livestock

Livestock plays an important role in Brazil's agriculture and is most prevalent in the country's Central West. In 2002, there were 176 million head of cattle, 30 million pigs , 1,050 million head of poultry and 15 million sheep in the country.

According to the CIA, in 2003, Brazilian industry employed 14% of the country's working population ^[16] , and in 2011 - 13.3% (estimated) ^[17] . The share of industry in GDP is 26.4%.

Mining

More than 40 types of minerals are mined in Brazil. The most significant are iron and manganese ores. More than 200 million tons of iron ore are mined annually, approximately 80% is exported. Brazil is one of the first places in the world for the extraction of bauxite. Zinc , copper and nickel are mined for the domestic market. Brazil is a supplier of strategic raw materials: tungsten , niobium , zirconium , mica , etc. Oil needs ^[19] Brazil provides only half and is forced to import it. The annual oil demand is 75 million tons . Significant gold reserves were found in the Amazon in the 1970s , now its extraction is about 80 tons per year. Coal deposits have been found, but low-quality coal and its production is about 5 million tons per year.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing accounts for over a quarter of GDP. The main industries are oil refining and the chemical industry.

Biofuel Production

Brazil is the largest (after the USA) bioethanol producer: in 2006, Brazil produced 16 977 million liters of biofuel. Ethanol provides about 30% of the country's fuel needs. In Brazil, both pure ethanol and a mixture with gasoline are used to refuel cars. The ethanol content in the mixture is 22-25%. Ethanol (2% of the composition) is also added to diesel fuel ^[20] .

Sugarcane is the raw material for ethanol production. The technological capabilities of Brazilian enterprises make it possible to produce ethanol at the level of 16–20 billion liters annually. The development of ethanol production from sugarcane makes it possible to balance sugar production on the world market: with a decrease in demand for raw sugar, the volumes of cane processing for ethanol increase, which allows to maintain the volume of crop cultivation regardless of the global market conditions ^[20] .

Automotive industry

Brazil produces more than 1.5 million cars annually . The main car manufacturers in the country are Scania , Mercedes-Benz and Fiat . The main bus manufacturer is Mercedes-Benz.

Light industry

The textile industry is Brazil's main light industry. In the manufacture of textiles, Brazil ranks 6-7th in the world. 80% of cotton is imported to Brazil from abroad. This is due to the low quality of Brazilian cotton. The shoe industry is developed - more than four thousand shoe factories operate in the country.

In 2012, Brazil produced 521,482 GWh of electricity. The country has 2,756 power plants. The Brazilian energy complex is basically represented by hydroelectric power plants that produce 85% of the country's electricity. The remaining 15% is produced by thermal , solar , wind and nuclear power plants . The total capacity of all power plants in the country is 121,226 MW, and the total length of power lines of various types of voltage is 107,088 km. If necessary, electricity is imported from Venezuela and Paraguay. The countries signed a contract for the supply of electricity for a total capacity of 5,850 MW ^[21] .

In 2012, Brazil consumed 544,684 GWh of electricity, which is 3.8% more than in 2011. Households consumed 117 567 GW • h, industrial sector - 183 488, commercial sector - 79 286, agricultural sector and other consumers - 67 952 GW • h, losses amounted to 96 391 GW • h. The number of consumers in 2012 increased by 2.9% and amounted to 72.4 million, of which 61.7 million belong to households, 10.7 million to other classes of consumers ^[21] .

According to the CIA, in 2003, 66% of the country's working population ^[16] was employed in the Brazilian services sector, and 71% in 2011 (estimated) ^[17] .

Transport in Brazil is extremely uneven, railways are mainly located in the east of the country.

Highways

• total - 1 751 868 km, including
  • paved - 96,353 km
  • without pavement - 1 655 515 km

Airports

• total - 4276
  • with a hard coating - 714
  • without a hard coating - 3562

Railways

• total - 29,252 km, including
  • wide-gauge - 487 km
  • standard - 194 km
  • narrow gauge - 23,785
  • the rest - 396 km

Water transport

• total - 137 vessels with a displacement of 2,038,923 gt / 3,057,820 deadweight
  • bulk carriers - 21
  • oil tankers - 47
  • chemical tankers - 8
  • gas tankers - 12
  • passenger - 12
  • container - 8
  • bulk carriers - 21
  • rollers - 8

Brazil is an active participant in world trade. The country has been a member of the World Trade Organization since its inception, since January 1, 1995. Brazil is also a member of Mercosur, a union of South American countries with the goal of creating a single market. In 2017, Brazil ranked 26th in the world in terms of exports of goods and services (217.8 billion US dollars) and the same place in terms of imports of goods and services (157.5 billion US dollars). The country is one of the largest exporters and importers of goods and services in the Western Hemisphere (in terms of exports and imports in 2017, it ranked 4th and was second only to the United States, Canada and Mexico).

The volume of exports of goods and services over the decade under review [Figure 1] increased by 110%, while imports, on the contrary, decreased to 86% of the original volume. In 2009, there was a sharp decline in exports and imports of goods and services, but already in 2010 the restoration of indicators began. Export took the maximum value in 2011 (256.0 billion US dollars), and then again until 2016 inclusively decreased again. At the same time, imports reached their maximum value in 2013 ($ 250.6 billion), surpassing the export of goods and services by $ 8.6 billion [table 1]. A negative foreign trade balance remained in 2014. And then the volume of imports of goods and services declined more than exports, which allowed to restore a positive foreign trade balance. In 2017, the volume of foreign trade in goods and services began to grow again.

File: Figure 1 - Brazil's foreign trade performance in 2008-2017, billion dollars

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1. Foreign trade in goods

1.1. Commodity structure of foreign trade in goods

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According to table 4, the export of Brazilian goods varies from 86% to 87% of the total exports in 2008-2017. The share of imports of goods - from 58% to 59%. You can see the growth of exports and imports of goods in 2010 due to large capital inflows to the Brazilian economy this year. ^[27] Then there is a decline in imports and exports in 2014, this is due to the fact that in 2014 the devaluation of the Brazilian real to the US dollar began. The decline in production in Brazil and its financial problems were exacerbated by the economic downturn in China, Brazil's main trading partner. ^[28] But by 2017, the situation had stabilized.

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The headings given in table 5 are leading in export of Brazil. Most of all for 2008-2017. the country exported oilseeds and fruits, other seeds. Ore occupied the second place in terms of export volume: it accounted for 10.3% of the total export volume in 2017 ^[29]. The most significant are iron and manganese ores. For this group of goods export growth was observed at 41.6% for the period 2008-2016. Mineral fuel closes the top three export leaders. Brazil is a major oil producer. Mineral fuel was the fastest growing export category, having increased by 83.3% in 2017 compared to 2016. The Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras is engaged in the processing of raw materials. Thus, it can be noted that commodities or agricultural products occupy the lion's share of all exports.

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Based on the above data, it can be concluded that Brazil is still a country that is highly dependent on imports of high-tech products. Commodities rank second in terms of imports of goods.

The main share of all products imported to Brazil is machinery and equipment (14% of the total imports in 2017), mineral fuels (13%) and electrical equipment (11% of the total).

1.2. Geographic Structure of Foreign Trade in Goods

The bulk (21%) of exports of goods from Brazil in 2017 was directed to China ($ 47 billion).

Other important areas of export of goods from Brazil in 2017 were:

12.4% ($ 27 billion) - United States

8.09% ($ 17.6 billion) - Argentina

4.24% ($ 9.25 billion) - Netherlands

For many years, the United States and Argentina have been Brazil's main export partners.

Chart 1. The main directions of export of goods from Brazil in 2017.

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The general strong and long-lasting trade relations of Brazil with China (in terms of export), the USA and Argentina (both in export and in import) can be explained by the following reasons:

China has long and systematically pursued an active, and sometimes even aggressive, policy in the space of Latin Caribbean America (LCA). For the region, Chinese capital and Chinese ambitions are common and widely discussed phenomena, although they are far from unambiguous assessments. Big, influential and resource-rich Brazil, of course, could not remain without the attention of the PRC. The visit of Brazilian President Michel Temer to the PRC (in September 2017) confirmed that China is interested in cooperation in the trade and economic sphere: 14 major agreements in the field of trade and infrastructure were signed, and another credit line was opened for Brasilia.

In essence, it is trade and investment that are the engines of bilateral relations. The United States is Brazil’s second largest trading partner, in 2016 the turnover amounted to $ 46 billion. The United States also occupies a leading position in terms of foreign direct investment - $ 65.3 billion. Relations between Brazil and the United States are not without contradictions, most of which lie in the political plane. The two largest economies of the two Americas seem to have been created in order to endlessly seek a balance between cooperation and competition. With all the abundance of contradictions, we note two main lines of confrontation. First of all, there is an acute problem of the struggle for influence in the Latin American space as a whole. Brazil sees itself as a spokesman for the interests of the region and is ready to uphold this right. However, it is very difficult for her to compete with the USA. The USA is involved in the economic space of the community of Latin American Caribbean countries, and here the Brazilians, even in the "fat years", could do little to oppose the Americans. The second big problem is the US’s reluctance to see Brazil as a serious partner. Arrogance and neglect are too clearly seen in Washington's attitude towards the South American giant, which causes growing irritation in Brasilia. The relationship between Brazil and the United States is in a constant movement from competition and opposition to cooperation and back to competition.

Brazil is Argentina's key trading partner, it also ranks first in the list of Argentinean export destinations, Brazil accounts for about 25% of all imports to the country. Argentina, in turn, ranks third after the PRC and the United States in the list of the main importers from Brazil, at the same time it accounts for about 6-7% of imports to Brazil, which is comparable, for example, with Germany. The nomenclature of goods exchanged between countries is extremely diverse, in one way or another almost all areas of the Brazilian and Argentinean economies are involved in it. Of particular importance for trade is engineering, for example, Argentina consumes 72% of all Brazilian car exports. The basis of the current friendship is the common strategic tasks that face both the leadership of Brazil and the Government of Argentina. Both countries experienced long periods of “left turn”, which, with all its achievements, led to the discrediting of left ideas in the eyes of a part of the population. Absorbed in corruption scandals and trying to restart the crisis economy, the leaders of both states are well aware of the need for cooperation, as well as the harm of confrontation.

The bulk (18.1%) of imports of goods to Brazil in 2017 was directed from China - $ 27 billion. Other important sources of imports of goods to Brazil in 2017 were:

16.6% ($ 25 billion) - United States

6.25% ($ 9.43 billion) - Argentina

6.12% ($ 9.22 billion) - Germany

Chart 2. The main directions of imports of goods to Brazil in 2017

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2. Foreign trade in services

2.1. Commodity structure of foreign trade in services

In the international arena, Brazil, in the first place, acts as an exporter and importer of various products: raw materials or finished products. However, the service sector also plays a significant role in Brazil's foreign trade.

According to table 7, the export of services from 2008 to 2017 averaged 16.4%, ranging from 15.4% to 18.0% of the total export, while the share of imports of services averaged 35.5%.

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In 2017, Brazil ranked 34th in the ranking of countries in terms of export of services, mainly overtaking other Latin American countries - Argentina, Venezuela, Honduras, but at the same time lagging behind the developed countries of the list of leaders - USA, UK, Germany. However, in the ranking of countries in terms of imports of services, Brazil was in 22nd place with an indicator of $ 68.3 billion, which is 44% more than in 2008 ^[23]

Speaking about the balance of “invisible” operations of Brazil, it is worth noting that in the period 2008-2017. the volume of imports of services exceeded the corresponding indicator of exports by about 2 times. This can be attributed to the fact that Brazil is a developing country, according to the UN classification, and it needs to constantly meet the growing needs associated with the service sector. By importing a large number of services from more developed countries, such as the USA, Germany and the UK (see 2.2), Brazil will be able to support the development of its own “invisible” operations. This idea is confirmed by the example of the development of computer and information services in Brazil. Compared to 2008 income from the export of these services grew 3.4 times, which was facilitated by the import of such services in the amount of 2.9 - 5.2 billion dollars.

Based on Figure 4, we can conclude that the services that bring the largest share of income were transport and tourism services - their combined share was approximately 35% of the total volume of services exported.

It should be noted that in the field of transport services, sea transport had the greatest weight. In 2017, the number of functioning seaports accepting cargo ships in Brazil amounted to 15. Mostly ports are located along the Atlantic coast. ^[33]

Considering the data of table 8, we can say that the level of income from tourism services ranged from 5.3-6.8 billion dollars, due to the fact that in the period 2008-2017. the number of arrivals in Brazil did not fall below the post-crisis 2009 indicator - 4.8 million visits per year. ^[34] In the field of tourism services, according to 2017, the share of income received from private individuals coming to the country amounted to 73% of the total volume of tourism services exports.

Computer and information services were the leaders in the export of other services, as Brazil is rapidly developing the IT sector, and in 2017 it was the fifth largest IT market in the world: more than 1.5 million people are involved in this field, and there are more than 40 largest technology centers in the country. ^[35]

File: Figure 4 - Structure of Brazil's service exports in 2017

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Analyzing the structure of Brazil's service import in 2017, presented in Figure 5, we can conclude that tourism services accounted for the largest weight - 28% of the total volume of import services. In the period 2008-2016. Brazil consistently ranks 29-30 in the list of countries by the number of tourist departures from the country. In 2016, this indicator amounted to 8.5 million shipments - this is the second place among the countries of Latin America. ^[36]

According to table 9, in 2017. in second place was the import of transport services - $ 10.8 billion, the largest part was also shipping. But imported air transportation also had serious weight. Brazil takes the 2nd place in the number of airports (after the United States), which allows it to accept a large number of aircraft, both national and foreign. ^[37]

File: Figure 5 - Structure of Brazil's imports of services in 2017

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2.2. Geographic Structure of Foreign Trade in Services

Let us turn to the geographical structure of foreign trade in services in order to demonstrate with whom and how Brazil cooperates most intensively.

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Based on the data in table 10, we can draw the following conclusions. The United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are the largest regular service providers for Brazil.

The list of countries to which Brazil exports the most services in general is presented in table 12.

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In terms of exports, the five largest partners, according to 2016, are slightly different. These are the USA, China, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

One of the key points worth noting is relations with the United States. Как можно легко заметить, США – важнейший партнёр для Бразилии в торговле услугами. Об этом говорит тот факт, что с 2007 г. по 2016 г. объёмы импорта и экспорта Бразилии с США увеличились на 141% и 94 % соответственно. Это связано с подписанием некоторых договоров, подразумевавших расширение сотрудничества непосредственно в сфере услуг и в связанных с ней областях.

Во-первых, подписание договора по открытому небу (“OpenSkies”) в 2011 г., открывающий просторы для будущих путешествий людей с целью отдыха и по бизнесу в обе стороны, а также расширение партнёрства отдельных компаний, занимающихся воздушными пассажиро- и грузоперевозками.

Во-вторых, упрощение получения визы США в Бразилии (программа “eVisa”), она предполагала снижение стоимости получения на 75% и доставку в течение 3-5 дней. ^{[40] [41]}

В-третьих, подписание в 2011 г. договора о развитии экономического сотрудничества (Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation) ^[42] . Он подразумевал стирание барьеров в сфере услуг и ставил перед собой задачу объединить крупнейших игроков на рынке услуг Северной и Южной Америки.

Все указанные факторы и привели к такому значительному увеличению объёмов торговли услугами в обе стороны.

Также следует отметить отсутствие какой-либо закономерности географической структуры торговли услугами Бразилии, исходящей из расположения стран-партнеров. Закономерность заключается в географической обширности международных связей Бразилии в плане импорта и экспорта услуг. Из стран, с которыми Бразилия ведёт наиболее тесное сотрудничество в данной сфере, только США и Канада представляют Американский континент. В то время как другие государства представляют Евразию. Однако при этом сохраняется закономерность торговли услугами с развитыми странами, что обуславливается той же причиной, что и в сфере торговли товарами: Бразилия, как развивающаяся страна, вынуждена черпать необходимое из других более развитых стран, которые и преобладают в структуре экспорта и импорта услуг.

3. Основные аспекты внешнеторгового регулирования

3.1. Тарифное регулирование

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В период 2008-2017 гг. по большей части продуктов тарифная ставка режима наибольшего благоприятствования практически не изменилась или изменилась несущественно. Больше всего изменилась тарифная ставка на прочие промышленные товары (на 1,3 п.п.).

Так как Бразилия входит в состав МЕРКОСУР, она применяет Общий Внешний Тариф МЕРКОСУР. Однако для каждого государства-члена Общего рынка существует список изъятий из общего таможенного тарифа, что продиктовано политическими и экономическими соображениями, например, необходимость защиты местной промышленности, отношения со страной-импортером. Так, Бразилия установила более высокие тарифы, чем ее партнеры по МЕРКОСУР на ряд товаров, в том числе транспортное оборудование, химические вещества и фармацевтические препараты. ^[44]

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Таможенный тариф Бразилии основан на принципе эскалации, т.е. уровень таможенного обложения иностранных товаров дифференцирован в зависимости от степени переработки: если сырье (средняя пошлина – 7,0%) и полуфабрикаты (средняя пошлина – 9,6%) ввозятся беспошлинно или с минимальной пошлиной, то пошлины на готовые изделия могут достигать максимальных значений (средняя пошлина – 14,1%). Самые распространенные ставки в бразильском таможенном тарифе от 10% до 15%, на этот диапазон приходится 28% от общего количества тарифных линий. Около 8% тарифных линий не облагаются пошлиной. Беспошлинный ввоз применяется в отношении импорта определенного круга товаров, национальное производство которых либо отсутствует, либо недостаточно для удовлетворения потребностей национальной экономики. Под действие данного режима подпадает ввоз основного массива сырьевых товаров, в частности нефть и нефтепродукты. ^[44]

Банки

Banco do Brasil

Страхование

По данным Бразильского института географии и статистики (БИГС), количество семей, ежемесячные доходы которых составляют менее 190 реалов, в 2007 году было равно 14,1 млн. Доля домохозяйств, находящихся за чертой бедности, снизилась с 31,8 % в 2002 году до 23,5 % в 2007 году. БИГС считает, что к таким изменениям привела начатая в 2003 году государственная программа Bolsa Família, направленная на сокращение бедности в стране ^[4] .

В 2007 году на 20 % самой богатой части населения приходилось 59,7 % доходов, а в 2001 году — 63,7 %. Вместе с тем доля доходов 20 % беднейших слоёв населения увеличилась с 2,6 % в 2001 году до 3,2 % в 2007 году. В Юго-восточном и Южном регионах большинство домашних хозяйств в 2007 году имело доход на душу населения от одного до двух минимальных размеров оплаты труда (28,3 % и 31,5 % соответственно). В Центрально-западном, Северном и Северо-восточном регионах — между 1/2 и одним минимальным размером оплаты труда (29,3 %, 29,1 % и 28,4 %, соответственно) ^[4] .

С 1 Января 2019 минимальный размер оплаты труда в Бразилии составляет R$ 998.00 ^[46] ( $ 265.83).

• Бразильский рейс
• Бразильский крузейро
• Крузадо

• Michel Chosudovsky . Brazil: Lula and "Neoliberalism with a Human Face"