Brazil: Public Procurement ban and tariff increase on imported wind turbines
Description
The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) will hold the first wind energy auction on November 25th, 2009, as part of the ongoing Program of Incentives for Alternative Electricity Sources (PROINFA), a government program that aims to promote the use of renewable technologies in the production of electricity.
The Ministry set out the requisites for new electricity generation projects participating in the auction in Administrative Act (Portaria) nº 211, published on May 28th, 2009. This act banned the use of imported wind turbines with nominal power up to 2,000kW by bidders participating in the auction.
This restriction was modified by MME Administrative Act nº 242 of June 25th, 2009, which stated that the use of imported turbines with nominal power under 1,500 kW were not allowed by bidders in the auction.
On June 18th, 2009, the Ministry of Trade increased import tariffs from zero to 14% on all wind turbines with capacity up to 3,300kVA, which corresponds to approximately 2.640kW (CAMEX Resolution nº 37, of June 18th, 2009). Turbines with capacity over 3,300kVA continue to face a zero tariff. The tariff measure includes a grace period for imports registered until December 21st, 2009. The Brazilian bound tariff for this product at WTO is 35%.
The affected trading partners are all countries producing wind-powered electric generating sets. In 2007, four countires were responsible for 94% of all wind turbine exports: Denmark (49.6%), Germany (28%), Japan (10.2%) and Spain (5.7%). (UN Comtrade)
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | Yes |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | Yes |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | Don't Know |
| Was such evidence identified? | Don't Know |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | Don't Know |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | Yes |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | No |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | Don't Know |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? | No |
Date Discovered: 20/07/2009
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 28 May 2009
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
Ministerio das Minas e Energia, Portaria nº 211, published in 28th of May 2009
Ministerio das Minas e Energia Portaria nº 242 of 25 June 2009
Resolução CAMEX nº 37, 18 June 2009
Government Response:
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