Treasury differs from the one indicated for Petrobras on fund to control prices

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The Secretary of the National Treasury, Paulo Valle, said this Wednesday (30) that using a fund with public resources to control fuel prices is an expensive and inefficient measure. The proposal is defended by economist Adriano Pires, appointed by the government to the presidency of Petrobras.

“We believe that, in order to face this fuel problem, measures have to be more focused. [uma iniciativa] expensive and inefficient”, said Valle after being asked about the topic.

According to the secretary, this is also the position of the Ministry of Economy (to which the Treasury is subordinate) and has already been expressed by the head of the ministry, Paulo Guedes. The head of the economic team has resisted in the fuel discussions to more measures that use public coffers, such as new subsidies or a price stabilization fund.

The position of the economic team contrasts with that defended by the new boss of the oil company just over a week ago, when Pires suggested using a fund to subsidize fuel prices for three to six months to offset what he calls the “war effect” – in its definition, when the price of a barrel is above US$ 95 (which is the case today).

“What is the immediate solution? Build a kind of fund with specific subsidies lasting from 3 to 6 months to cover the ‘war effect'”, said Pires. The proposal is in an article published by the site Poder 360 on March 22.

“We can immediately use resources from the dividends paid by Petrobras to the Union or resources from royalties, special participations or even from the sale of oil made by the state-owned PPSA [Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A., responsável por representar a União nos contratos de produção de petróleo no pré-sal]”, wrote Pires.

As shown by sheet, institutional investors and large funds interviewed assess that friction with the government tends to be repeated with Pires in charge. However, they believe that Pires’ proximity to Congress will pave the way for a plan B – the creation of some compensation mechanism whenever oil is too high.

Valle, however, defends “giving time to time”, saying that the first measures have already been adopted and should bring results (in this case, the cut in federal taxes and changes in ICMS for diesel). Others, if necessary, would need to come gradually.

In addition, Valle says that new initiatives may even be dispensed with depending on the evolution of variables that can make the scenario milder — such as the next events of the war in Ukraine (which, depending on the advance of diplomatic exits, can cool down the prices of the oil) and the appreciation of the real.

“This improvement in the market, plus the measures already adopted, requires more cadenced actions. We have to see the results and then make decisions. And, again, if you take measures, always try to be more focused to avoid excessive spending”, he said. .

For Valle, among the measures that could be aimed at the most needy strata of society is something similar to Auxílio Gás. “[Para algo que] is affecting the poorest population, you give some measure to that population. You don’t have to give a benefit to the entire population reaching the lower, middle and upper classes,” he said.

Valle’s statements were made during a press conference on the government’s primary result in February. He was also asked about the situation of the readjustment for servers, who are fighting for a raise.

He replied that today the government has budgetary limitations and that the economic team seeks fiscal rebalancing. At the moment, BRL 1.7 billion in federal spending is blocked to meet the spending ceiling (which prevents the growth of expenses beyond the inflation of the previous year) and, in order to grant something to the servers, something will have to be adjusted in the worksheets.

“It is a difficult negotiation. On the one hand, it is understandable because, due to the crisis, purchasing power is at a significant loss. On the other hand, there are budgetary difficulties after the pandemic crisis that we had”, said Valle.

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