In order to help Brazilian companies avoid barriers to foreign trade and facilitate Brazilian exports to foreign markets, President Michel Temer has issued a decree launching the Electronic System for the Monitoring of Barriers to Brazilian Exports, called Sem Barreiras (“No Barriers”) for short.

According to a decree published on Friday (10 November), the system is an online tool that allows exporting companies to identify and communicate to Brazilian authorities the trade barriers they find during negotiations.

Many Brazilian exporters, especially small and medium businesses, find obstacles when selling their products abroad. This is because countries can hinder access to their market through regulations, technical standards or requirements impossible for Brazilian companies to comply with, often increasing the cost of business.

For the head of the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC), Marcos Pereira, the tool is a breakthrough in the work of identifying and removing trade barriers. "It is a fundamental instrument to strengthen the relationship between government and the private sector, since it will allow the two to work together to identify barriers and aid the work... of reducing or removing these barriers," he said.

The tool allows users to identify obstacles so that Brazilian authorities to act to overcome or reduce them, making it easier for exporters to gain access to the foreign market.

The system can be accessed by exporters beginning this Friday (10) at www.sembarreiras.gov.br. In addition to informing the authorities about the barriers, companies will be also able to follow the progress of the reports made to the Brazilian government.