Government reduces whey import tariff and zero airbag for motorcyclists

The government has zeroed the tariff on imports of airbags to protect motorcyclists, the Ministry of Economy said on Wednesday (17).

The product rate is currently 35% for imports made by Mercosur countries, but Brazil has included the item — jackets and vests with built-in airbags — in the list of exceptions to the bloc’s common external tariff.

President Jair Bolsonaro is a motorcycle enthusiast and has already promoted a series of motorcycle riders with supporters in different cities across the country.

In a note, the ministry said that another six codes were included in the exception list to zero or reduce to 4% tariffs on products, including food supplements and whey.

The reduction comes at a time of skyrocketing the price of a liter of milk, which had the biggest positive impact on inflation in Brazil in July and even surpassed the value of gasoline in cities like São Paulo.

The price of long-life milk soared 25.46% in July in the country, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The surge in milk came after an advance of 10.72% in the previous month (June). In the year, the product started to accumulate a high of 77.84% until July. In 12 months, the increase reached 66.46%.

The rise in prices is associated with at least two factors. The first is the off-season, which usually reduces the supply of milk on the market from March to September or October. The second is the escalation of production costs. During the pandemic, inputs such as animal feed, fertilizers and fuel became more expensive. The side effect is the pass-through to prices on supermarket shelves.

Milk derivatives also rose for the consumer in July. The cheese advanced 5.28%. Powdered milk was 5.36% more expensive. Butter had an inflation of 5.75%. Condensed milk recorded an even higher rise of 6.66%.