Sinaval warns of risks of eliminating restrictions on foreign vessels

SINAVAL – The National Sindicate for Offshore and Naval Construction and Repair – has issued a technical note on laws 423/2014, 2948/2019 and 3221/2019 that are in the making, which propose amendments to law no. 9,432 (formed in 08/01/1997) regarding the organization of waterway transport.

The new bills aim to allow Brazilian shipping companies to acquire new and used vessels in the international market and to eliminate restrictions on chartering  foreign vessels, with exemptions on import taxes (II, PIS, Cofins, and ICMS). According to Sinaval, the bills will be damaging to the regulatory framework of Brazilian navigation and naval shipbuilding, which has been the object of extensive and lengthy government negotiations with all stakeholders and has worked perfectly for the past of 20 years.

The union fears that privileges will be created for companies that have never invested in these sectors and now intend to operate with undue advantages, to the detriment of domestic and foreign shipping companies that previously took a risk by investing in Brazil. The letter is signed by the president of Sinaval, Ariovaldo Rocha, and was registered and addressed to the minister of infrastructure, Tarcisio Freitas.

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