Industrial Policy (Brazil)

In March 2004, the Brazilian government presented its new directives for Industrial, Technological, and Foreign Trade Policy. This policy is one of the actions that constitute the development strategy of the government, as outlined in the document titled, “Government Strategic Guidance: Sustainable Growth, Employment, and Social Inclusion.” The aim of the Industrial Policy is to increase efficiency in the Brazilian productive structure, stimulate the capacity of companies for innovation, and expand exports in a dynamic environment of innovation at the global level. Nanotechnology, described as “a gateway to the future,” is considered a strategic area of the policy.

The proposals of the Industrial Policy are aimed at reversing a situation described as (1) a downward trend in the Brazilian share of international trade; (2) Brazilian export capacity being highly concentrated in a small number of companies; and (3) a low-tech level of exports. This evaluation pays special attention to the balance of trade deficit due to dependence on imports in sectors connected to the so-called Knowledge Economy, in which innovation and highly qualified human resources are critical.

The general aims of the Industrial Policy are to encourage exports by adding value to Brazilian resources and products; improve innovative capacity of companies by conceiving, projecting, and developing products and processes; stimulating activities that are a gateway to the future such as biotechnology, software, electronics, and optoelectronics, new materials, nanotechnologies, renewable energy, biofuel, and activities derived from the Kyoto Protocol; contributing to regional development by strengthening local productive arrangements; and developing projects for mass consumption.

The policy establishes both horizontal and vertical actions. The horizontal actions are aimed at increasing efficiency, competitiveness, and external insertion in all sectors [Page 335]of the economy. The vertical actions aim to stimulate priority sectors, those linked to the Knowledge Economy and, therefore, strategic to the development of the Brazilian economy and instrumental in broadening its participation in the global market. These priority sectors are semiconductors, software, pharmaceuticals, and capital goods. Furthermore, the directive prioritizes three areas that are defined as gateways to the future: nanotechnology, biotechnology, and biomass, viewed as the sources of technological progress for the rest of the economy.

This strategic place of nanotechnology in the Industrial Policy took shape in the National Nanotechnology Program of 2005, which was the result of proposals in the Program for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Industrial Policy itself. The actions recommended by these policies, such as the development of qualified human resources, the collaboration between research centers and companies, and the support to research and development of nanotechnology in companies, are mainly implemented by the CNPq (National Research Council) and by FINEP (Financer of Studies and Projects).