CNN Brazil – 23/02/2026
Per Gabriel Garcia and Victoria Queiroz
The measure affects machinery, equipment, and technology items and is part of a strategy to reduce external dependence and strengthen national industry; part of the productive sector criticizes the resolution.
The federal government decided raise import tax more than 1,200 products, in a measure that primarily targets machinery, industrial equipment, and technology items, and is seen internally as a response to the growth of imports and to loss of market share for the national industry.
The changes were formalized by the resolution. Gecex No. 852, dated February 4, 2026, and includes 1,252 product codes with new tax rates, with validity from February and March this year.
THE stronger reaction The measure came mainly from entities linked to technology sector, which relies heavily on imported equipment and components.
Items such as data processing servers, switches, routers, and other technology equipment had their import tax rates increased by the measure.
“"This measure affects not only the technology sector, but the entire national economy, since information technology today constitutes the cross-cutting infrastructure that sustains and enables all other economic sectors," says the Brazilian Association of Software Companies in a statement.
The decision comes at a time when the government evaluates that the The increase in imports came to represent one structural risk for Brazilian industry.
In 2025, External purchases of capital goods and technology totaled approximately US$ 75 billion, with significant growth in recent years.
The prevailing view within the economic team is that the country is going through a process of increasing... dependence on imported products, especially in technology-intensive and investment-intensive sectors.
A technical note from Ministry of Finance classified the movement as a threat He criticized the national production structure and advocated for the readjustment of tariffs to prevent the loss of industrial capacity.
According to the document, the imported already represent about 45% consumption of machinery and equipment in the country and more than 50% of the goods Information technology and telecommunications, levels considered high for an economy the size of Brazil.
The assessment is that the tariff adjustment could help to “"rebalance relative prices"” between national and imported products and to stimulate investment in domestic industry.
Previously, a significant portion of these products entered the country with very low or even zero taxes, especially through tariff reductions and special regimes.
In some cases, machinery and equipment they had 0% rate or lower than 7%, which made imports cheaper and increased the competitiveness of foreign suppliers compared to the national industry.
With the change, as tariffs become more concentrated in levels close to 7%, 12,6% and 20%, replacing the previous structure, which was characterized by many items with zero tax or reduced rates.
O impact It should be stronger in certain sectors. investment intensive, sectors such as mining, oil and gas, energy, infrastructure, and agribusiness, which rely heavily on imported equipment.
Despite this, the government believes that the effect on inflation tends to be limited, since the affected products are mostly production goods and not final consumer goods.
This measure is part of a broader industrial policy strategy that seeks to... expand domestic production of machinery and technology, in line with objectives of the New Industry Brazil.
According to government experts, the movement follows a international trend, with developed and emerging countries adopting tariffs and industrial policies to protect sectors considered strategic.
“"It should also be noted that this proposal is in line with international trends. Several countries have increased sectoral protection or trade remedies in subgroups of machinery, signaling that tariff instruments continue to be used to correct external shocks and dumping," says the Finance Ministry's technical note.
Despite the increase in tariffs, the measure maintains important exceptions. for products not manufactured domestically, mainly through mechanisms such as tariff exemptions and special import regimes.
These instruments allow for the reduction or elimination of import taxes on machinery and equipment considered essential for productive investments, which tends to limit the effective impact of the new rates on industrial and infrastructure projects.
Specific regimes used by investment-intensive sectors, such as oil and gas, mining, and the export industry, also remain valid, including mechanisms like Repetro, Recof, and drawback, which reduce the tax burden on imported equipment.
In practice, these exceptions act as a buffer, allowing for increased protection of domestic industry without halting investments that depend on foreign technology.
