BRAZIL: questions on fisheries subsidies at Brazil's WTO's Trade Policy Review (2)

Here is a question by Norway, and Brazil's answer, at the 2009 Trade Policy Review. It concerns fuel subsidies:

(4) MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE
(iv) Incentives and other government assistance

Para. 270 states that; “Brazil has been notifying periodically to the WTO its subsidies programmes under Article XVI.1 of the GATT 1994 and Article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCMA). In its October 2007 notification, for fiscal years 2005 and 2006, Brazil included the SUDAM/ADA and SUDENE/ADENE regional programmes; the FINAM/FINOR/FUNRES programmes for the development of the Amazon and north-east regions and the state of Espírito Santo; the programme of constitutional funds for the financing of the north-east, the north and the mid-west regions; the programme for capacity building and competitiveness, enhancement in information technology; fisheries incentives; and the industrial technology development programme (PDTI) and agriculture/cattle breeding technology development programme (PDTA).”

Could Brazil elaborate on the specific content of the program for “fisheries incentives”? The footnote in para 270 refers to Brazil’s subsidy notification of 2007 where a program for diesel oil support is notified. Is this program still in existence? If so, could Brazil provide any details of it?

ANSWER:

"Fisheries incentives notified and granted by the Brazilian Government encompass the "National Program for Financing the Improvement and Modernization of the National Fishing Fleet – PROFROTA Pesqueira", the "Program for the Support of Infrastructure" and the "Program for Economic Subvention to the Price of Diesel Oil Used by Fishing Vessels".

As to the second question, the "Program for Economic Subvention to the Price of Diesel Oil Used by Fishing Vessels" is still in force in Brazil. Fishing vessel owners or charterees (natural persons or companies); professional fishermen and fishing industries are entitled to this program. Its main objective is to match the price of diesel oil paid by national fishing vessels (after the rebate granted by Federal States in ICMS) to the one paid by foreign vessels.

The benefit takes the form of a reimbursement of the difference between the diesel oil price paid by the beneficiary in the domestic market and the price paid by fishing vessels in the international market. The reimbursement is only made if this difference is below 25%."