Brazil Zero Import Tariffs on Certain PV Products

Brazil's Resolution No. 70 passed on July 16th would eliminate import tariffs on PV modules, inverters and trackers. The measure, taken by the Foreign Chamber of Commerce of the Ministry of Economy, listed 101 kinds of exempt solar module, some three-phase inverters and trackers. The law would come into effect on August 1st. Although there are no domestic ratio requirements for utility-scale solar projects or scattered-scale power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW allocated in the auction, if modules that made in brazil are used, you can get funds from the national development bank BNDES and other government organizations.
In order to encourage the development of the solar energy industry, the Brazilian government has offered a series of preferential policies for solar energy industrial manufacturers as early as 2007. For example, Support Program for the Technological Development of Semiconductor and Displays Industries issued by the Brazilian government stipulates that solar cell and panel manufacturers who enjoy national tax incentives must spend 3% of their net profits in R&D during 2014-2015, during 2016 to 2018 rose to 4%, and from 2019 went higher to 5%.

In recent years, the Brazilian government has provided funding and policy support for related infrastructure and projects to developed solar energy industry better. According to data provided by National Energy Agency, the total investment in the national power industry will exceed 30 billion dollars by 2035, of which 70% will be in renewable energy technologies such as solar PV, wind, biomass and ocean power. It is estimated that Brazil will have more than 800,000 units of solar PV equipment with an installed capacity of more than 2,000 MW by 2035.

Rodriguez said that the solar power industry has brought Brazil 1.9 billion dollar in new investment and provided approximately 63,000 jobs. And as the largest country in Latin America with a population of more than 200 million, Brazil has huge market. Although the current COVID-19 has caused a great impact on the Brazilian economy, history shows that Brazil has a strong self-recovery.