Trade, protection and competitiveness in Brazil: the case of the auto industry

The question on why, when and how to impose tariff barriers to protect the domestic industry is far from settled. Although different branches of the literature acknowledge that the existence of market failures is a potential reason to protect, the identification and measurement of externalities, for example, is a very difficult empirical task. Thus, theoretical and empirical literature does not offer a satisfactory policy guidance. However, it is not an assessment of potential market failures such as externalities that should guide policy. More can be said about the different channels through the link between tariff protection/trade liberalization and competitiveness operates. To shed light on these channels we undertake a case study of the Brazilian automotive sector, following an inductive approach and relying on different sources of both qualitative and quantitative data. In this, we ask “Why is the Brazilian Automotive sector not yet competitive after 60 years of protection?”. The identified channels that could answer our research question can be divided into (i) actions and policies that affect the internal and external scale of domestic production; (ii) variables affecting competition and productivity; (iii) variables affecting the production and absorption of innovation; (iv) institutional aspects and the business environment faced by firms operating domestically. The results indicate that the structure of protection within the domestic value chain – namely the level of protection for intermediate goods, and the overall business environment, are two relevant aspects potentially affecting the long-term competitiveness of industrial sectors, and that these should be better taken into account in policymaking

Instrumentos de política para promover a eletromobilidade no Brasil

O Brasil não apresenta os impulsos e motivações que levaram outros países a estabelecer políticas para a eletromobilidade, pois há outras particularidades em sua matriz energética que dispersam esforços no sentido da eletrificação veicular. Este artigo busca colaborar para o estabelecimento de um modelo de eletrificação de veículos no país, que já são uma realidade hoje e, podem chegar a 6 milhões de veículos em 2030. Uma revisão dos principais instrumentos de política para a mobilidade é executada envolvendo os aspectos de produção, desenvolvimento tecnológico, infraestrutura e consumo. Este artigo colabora para o estabelecimento de um modelo de eletrificação de veículos no Brasil, estabelecendo os principais stakeholders do processo e propondo ações, principalmente do Estado, nas esferas federal, estadual e municipal, que podem impactar no processo. Os stakeholders devem ser incentivados por incentivos fiscais ou subsídios de forma a vencer a inércia do mercado, ofertando uma infraestrutura e estimulando o consumo. As montadoras, por sua vez, oferecerão os modelos de veículos que a política brasileira determinar.Brazil does not present the impulses and motivations that led other countries to establish policies for electric mobility, as there are other peculiarities in its energy matrix that disperse efforts towards vehicular electrification. This article seeks to collaborate in establishing a vehicle electrification model in Brazil, which is already a reality today, and can reach 6 million vehicles by 2030. A review of the main policy instruments for mobility is performed involving the production, technological development, infrastructure and consumption aspects. This article contributes to the establishment of a vehicle electrification model in Brazil, establishing the main stakeholders of the process and proposing actions, mainly from the State, in the federal, state and municipal spheres, that can impact the model. Stakeholders should be encouraged by tax incentives or subsidies in order to overcome market inertia, provide infrastructure and stimulate consumption. The automakers, in turn, will offer the vehicle models that Brazilian policy will determine

Will Rota 2030 deliver sustainable innovation? Comparing the ends and means of Brazilian and German auto industry innovation policies

Purpose – Due to dramatic transformation of the auto industry, governments are implementing innovationpolicies to ensure the domain of sustainable technologies. According to the literature, developing countries thatdepend on multinational subsidiaries must invest in complementary innovation to be part of their research anddevelopment (R&D) headquarters’ long-term plans. This study analyses the Brazilian auto industry innovationpolicy (Rota 2030) to evaluate if it targets complementarity with the German’s one (NPE). It also compares theinstitutional arrangements of the former against the latter to check for governance gaps. Design/methodology/approach – It applies a case-oriented comparative method (Ragin, 2014) for theanalysis of qualitative evidence on secondary data. It investigates evidence of complementarity between Rota2030 and national platform for electric mobility (NPE) objectives and checks for governance gaps in Rota 2030using NPE as a reference. Findings – The results confirmed a loose fitting between the innovation policies mainly for a lack ofdeterminism of Rota 2030 objectives. Governance gaps were also found on Rota 2030 policy formulation andoperationalization. Practical implications – It contributes for the improvement of Rota 2030, and its analytical frame may beused for the formulation or adjustment of other developing countries’ innovation policies. Originality/value – It contributes with innovation system and policy field development with a theoreticalextension coming from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) (Menard, 2018). By examining the performanceof“institutional arrangements” during the process of formulation and operationalization of innovation policies,it shows the importance of coordination for their effectivenes

Strategic management of patents on electrochemical conversion fuel cells and batteries in Latin America as a mechanism for moving towards energy sustainability

Electrochemical conversion batteries (ECBs), especially fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), are the focus of attention of the scientific community due to their potential contribution to the decarbonization of the economy. In this context, the objective is to analyze patent publication flows on LIBs in Latin America (LATAM) by proposing a technology adoption matrix, a Patents friendly to sustainable technologies (PFST) indicator, and the use of technology s-curves. Data collection and analysis were carried out using the PatSeer knowledge base, Gephi, VantagePoint, and Loglet Lab software. The results show the leadership of Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, with high dependence on the United States, Japan, and Germany. The PFST indicates that 79.3% of the published patents address climate change mitigation. In general, there is a low rate of publication of ECB patents in LATAM, marked by a technological lag in the evolution of key technologies. Patents on fuel cells are more published than those related to LIB. Under this scenario, it is unlikely that LATAM will achieve the necessary competitiveness to produce complex technologies in this field. In this regard, it follows that to reverse the position of traditional exporters of low value-added commodities, these countries should formulate strategies that allow the development of the innovation ecosystem, promoting open and applied innovation mechanisms, subsidized adoption, greater integration of universities and, at the same time, strengthening technological integration with countries that currently lead the transfer and others with great potential such as China and South Korea.This project has received Open Access funding provided by University of Basque Country. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Natur

Mass introduction of electric passenger vehicles in Brazil: impact assessment on energy use, climate mitigation and on charging infrastructure needs for several case studies

Mobility has proved to be a major challenge for human development, especially in urban centers worldwide, where more displacement is required, since fossil fuels consumption is increasing as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing air quality degradation and global warming. The predicted population increase in cities tends to increase the demand for mobility and to further exacerbate those impacts. Therefore, sustainable transport is key for the future of mobility, and electric vehicle (EV) has emerged as a recognized sustainable option. However, there are many electric vehicle barriers diffusion. This research aims to contribute to the diffusion of EV in Brazil, by assessing: 1) whether EV is a more sustainable technology when compared with ethanol vehicle; 2) the impacts of the expansion of electric mobility on CO2 emissions, in Sao Paulo; 3) how to overcome the barriers for the charging infrastructure deployment at the municipality level, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte; and 4) key challenges and opportunities from the mass adoption of EV in Brazil. A plethora of different methods were used, including scenario analysis, multi-criteria decision methods, geographic information systems and SWOT analysis. Main results point to EV as the best technology to mitigate passenger transport related CO2 emissions in Brazil, due to its low carbon footprint. In Sao Paulo, this option could reduce around 11 MtCO2 by 2030 and save 6,200 billion USD in energy with the replacement of 20 percent of gasoline cars with EV. To meet 1 percent of EV's market share, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte together will need around 6,500 charging stations concentrated in around 1/3 of their territories (level 2). Brazil may likely have up to 10 percent of EV penetration by 2030, with the diffusion taking place mostly in southeastern municipality. Ethanol, lack of electric mobility public policy, non-urbanized like subnormal agglomerates, and risk areas, like flood hazard, are major obstacles for EV diffusion in Brazil

Do WTO rules preclude industrial policy? Evidence from the global economic crisis

The creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 was a landmark in the development of the liberal international economic order. Yet the global economic crisis of 2008 put the spotlight on the longstanding question whether WTO membership limited the policy choices of governments coping with distress. This Special Issue of Business and Politics uses the crisis as a "stress test” for evaluating the prominent thesis that multilateral trade rules presently impose sharp limits on national industrial policies. The evidence from a wide range of sectoral and national contexts suggests that the WTO's ability to constrain member governments' use of industrial policy is highly exaggerated. As we argue in this introductory essay, and as the studies in this Issue show, assertions of the WTO's strength do not reflect the incomplete and contested nature of its accords and the imperatives of policymaking in an era when many governments simultaneously intervene in national economie