CNC advocates for fair competition to combat illegal trade in Brazil

At the ‘Pact for Order and Progress’ seminar in Brasília, business leaders and parliamentarians discussed the economic impacts of unfair competition, informality, and violence in Brazil. Representing the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), Nadim Donato advocated for more balanced rules to protect formal businesses.

Data presented by the CNC indicates that illegal trade causes annual losses of R$ 179.2 billion in formal retail sales and R$ 74.8 billion in tax revenue. Donato emphasized that combating illegality requires coordinated efforts in tax improvement, inspection, intelligence, and legal security, noting that illegal markets can financially support criminal organizations.

The seminar also addressed tax parity in international e-commerce. A CNC study suggested that taxing small-value imports has redirected approximately R$ 2.88 billion per month to national retail, helping preserve an estimated 98,900 formal jobs.