Brazil Boosts Anti-Dumping Measure to Protect Manufacturers

Brazil decided to implement anti- dumping duties retroactively to prevent companies from stocking up on imported goods the government says pose a threat to local industry.

The decision makes good on a promise by President Dilma Rousseff to toughen trade barriers to protect manufacturers hurt by a currency rally that's fueling a surge of imports from China. Brazil's real has rallied 40 percent against the U.S. dollar since the end of 2008, more than all 25 emerging market currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

As a result of Sep. 7, 2011's new rules, the government can apply its anti-dumping tax retroactively 90 days before the a preliminary ruling on whether the price of the imported product costs less than it would in its country of origin.

The government added air conditioners and bicycles as well as five other products to a list of goods subject to higher tariffs under the Mercosur trade agreement with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

The government also announced that it will charge an anti- dumping duty of $743 per ton (1231 reais) on a type of steel tube manufactured in China and used by the oil and gas industries.

According Foreign Trade Secretary Tatiana Prazeres, the government has noted increased imports of these kinds of tubes from China that enter the country underpriced.

"Almost half of the 81 anti-dumping measures taken by Brazil are against Chinese products," said Prazeres.