Global Trade Alert

On August 5, 2013, the National Development Bank of Brazil (BNDES, for its acronym in Portuguese) published a resolution that extends the Program for Sustaining Investment (PSI) applicable to capital goods until 2014. This measure is part of Brazil's Greater Plan (Plano Brasil Maior).
 
The PSI finances the production and purchase of machinery and new equipment manufactured in Brasil, including agricultural machinery and the working capital associated to the equipment. The program also finances the purchase of buses, trucks, chassis, trailers, tracto-trailers, dollies, tanks and other similar equipment, and new equipment associated to investment projects. Additionally, it covers capital goods acquired for leasing.
 
The PSI finances operations at subsidized interest rates ranging from 3.5% to 5%. The interest rate reduction applies only to goods produced in Brazil by manufacturers or suppliers holding a credit line in the form of a BNDES card (cartao BNDES). The average general rate without the subsidy is 9%, depending on the size of the enterprise.
 
To obtain a manufacturer BNDES card, the applicants are required to comply with a level of at least 60% of the nationalisation index (percentage of national components, relative to the total equipment) or produce goods that are part of a Basic Productive Process (Processo Produtivo Básico), which is a set of production stages necessary to be under a special tax regime.
 
The formula to compute the nationalisation index is provided in Annex No. 16/2013 of Circular 05/08/2013.