The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) sided yesterday with the EU's arguments concerning Brazil's industrial tax measures that disadvantage EU companies. The WTO Appellate Body confirmed the initial ruling of August 2017 that numerous Brazilian tax programmes are not in line with WTO rules as they favour domestic products...
The programmes disadvantage EU automotive, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products by granting tax advantages based on the local content embedded in products. As a consequence of the ruling, Brazil will now have to bring its tax programmes in compliance with WTO rules and remove the prohibited measures without delay. Brazil is an important trade partner for the EU with machinery and appliances, chemical products and transport equipment making up the bulk of EU exports to Brazil. However, Brazil's restrictive trade policies have resulted in a decline in EU exports of goods to Brazil, from a peak of €40 billion in 2013 to €32.2 billion in 2017. For more information see the full press release.
