The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) warned, in a position made this Tuesday (30), about the risk of the Provisional Measure that limits the use of resources from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT).
The entity states that, in practice, there will be no release of the budget necessary for research and development projects important to Brazil to continue. Among them, the realization of phase three clinical trials of vaccines against Covid-19 developed in the country will be impacted.
The MP, published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette (DOU) on Monday (29), is already in force. However, it needs to be approved by the National Congress to become definitive law.
In 2021, the legislature had already passed a law that prevented the contingency of resources linked to the fund. But the MP published this week removes that ban and sets limits on the application of the money.
With the change, the use of 100% of the budget can only be achieved in 2027. In 2022, the established limit was BRL 5.555 billion. In the following years, the limit is a percentage of the total revenue forecast for the year: 58% in 2023, 68% in 2024, 78% in 2025, 88% in 2026 and 100% in 2027.
However, the MP informs that these established percentages are referential and may be increased during each year, in case of opening of additional credits, under the terms of the legislation. According to the CNI, the FDNCT will no longer invest approximately R$3.5 billion planned for 2022 if the measure is approved by Congress.
In a note, the CNI states that investing in innovation is not an option but an obligation for the country’s economic development. The entity’s president, Robson Braga de Andrade, says that “Brazil is not following the best practices, recognized worldwide, to become more innovative” with the approval of measures like this.
“We will do what we can to try to reverse the reduction in FNDCT resources and show Brazilian society the inconsistency of cuts in a fund that is crucial to promoting technological development and the country’s economic and social growth,” says Andrade.
The CNI listed other initiatives that will lack resources for execution: support for the development of sustainable crop protection products and innovative fertilizers; the expansion of the supply of quality water for the inhabitants of the Brazilian semiarid region; the development of technologies for the production of sustainable fuels; and other projects in health, agriculture, mining, smart cities and innovation centers, which will be interrupted or may not get off the ground.
Sought, the Planalto did not manifest itself on the considerations of the confederation.
Source: CNN Brasil
