Decree regulating the operation of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce (CAMEX) Published

Decree No. 10,044/2019 was published today, regulating the operation of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce (CAMEX), which is responsible for formulating, implementing and coordinating the Brazilian foreign trade policy.

According to this decree, CAMEX will be composed of the following bodies:

• Commercial Strategy Council;
• Executive Management Committee;
• Executive Secretariat;
• Private Sector Advisory Board;
• Exports Financing and Assurance Committee;
• Tariff Change Committee;
• Trade Defense Committee;
• National Trade Facilitation Committee;
• National Investment Committee;
• Ombudsman Advisory Group on Direct Investments; and
• National Point of Contact for the implementation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The Commercial Strategy Council will be chaired by the Brazilian President and will be composed of the Ministers of Economy, Chief of Staff’s Office, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. In principle, this body will meet every six months in order to define foreign trade policy guidelines, grant negotiating mandate for trade agreements and authorize trade disputes.

The Executive Management Committee, in turn, will be composed of the Minister of Economy and his Special Secretaries of Foreign Trade, of Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness, of the Federal Revenue Office and of the Treasury Office, as well as representatives of the other ministries mentioned above. Among other roles, this Committee will be competent to:

• set provisional or definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties and safeguards;
• decide on the suspension of the enforceability of provisional duties;
• approve price undertakings;
• establish guidelines for trade defense investigations;
• formulate import and export tariff policy guidelines;
• establish export duties;
• establish import duties; and
• modify, as set out in the acts of the Mercosur Common Market, the Mercosur Common Nomenclature referred to in Decree No. 2,376 of November 12, 1997.

These competences had been attributed to the Special Secretary of International Trade by Decree No. 9,745/2019 (art. 82), which was partially repealed by Decree No. 10,044/2019.

Decree No. 10,044/2019 grants a period of 90 (ninety) days for CAMEX to publish its bylaws, which shall regulate in more detail the operation of its various bodies.

Demarest’s International Trade and Customs team is available for any further information or clarification on this matter.