Alckmin urges Chinese ambassador to secure chip exports to Brazil as crisis looms

The acting President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), Geraldo Alckmin, has opened talks with China in search of solutions to the global semiconductor crisis that could impact the automotive sector in Brazil.

On Tuesday (28), Alckmin met with representatives of the automotive, auto parts, and workers’ sectors, who were at the MDIC to request the Brazilian government’s support in resolving the international crisis.

The issue, stemming from geopolitical tensions, began after the Dutch government intervened against a Chinese company operating in the Netherlands that controls 40 percent of the global market for chips essential to flex-fuel vehicles. In response, the Chinese government suspended the export of semiconductors produced at its plant, which now also threatens Brazilian industry.

In response to a request from the production sector, Alckmin spoke with the Chinese Ambassador to Brazil, Zhu Qingqiao, to urge Brazil to maintain access to the semiconductors used in flex-fuel vehicles. The ambassador committed to taking the demand to the Chinese government.

The minister also consulted with the Brazilian Ambassador to China, Marcos Bezerra Abbott Galvão, and stated that he may seek negotiations through the China-Brazil High-Level Commission for Concertation and Cooperation (Cosban), of which he is chair, in order to find solutions favorable to Brazil in the face of the international semiconductor supply crisis for automakers.

Talks in search of a solution

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the MDIC’s Secretary of Industrial Development, Innovation, Trade and Services, Uallace Moreira, explained that the goal of the talks with China is to ensure that Brazil is not included in the export restrictions and to secure access to the components essential for vehicle production.

“There is total priority from the vice-president, including in his capacity as Brazil’s representative at Cosban, to broaden and deepen this dialogue to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, protecting both companies and jobs,” the secretary said. As part of the negotiation, Brazil commits to internal use of the product, with guaranteed traceability.

He added that companies estimate they have enough inputs for approximately two weeks of production. The automotive sector accounts for 20% of Brazil’s manufacturing output. According to Moreira, “any production stoppage would directly affect 130,000 formal jobs and 1.3 million indirectly.”

Source: Comex do Brasil

Sharing is caring!