President Lula announced an agreement on Wednesday with House Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (Uniao-AP) to bring to a vote in Congress the provisional measure that ends the so called 'taxa das blusinhas', the 20% import tax that had been applied to international purchases under $50. The meeting took place at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia.
According to Alcolumbre, the joint committee reviewing the measure will be installed next Tuesday, September 1, clearing the way for floor votes. 'It needs to be deliberated in committee, then on the floor of the House and the Senate. I make a commitment to you and to Brazilians who need this measure in force: next week, in this short window of concentrated effort, in the middle of the election process, we will deliberate so you can sign it into law', the Senate president said, according to InfoMoney. Alcolumbre also said this measure 'will not expire'.
The measure, published by the government on May 13, suspended the 20% import tax on international purchases up to $50 (about R$258), a tax widely associated in Brazil with cheap clothing bought from platforms like Shein and Shopee, hence the nickname 'blusinhas' ('little blouses'). The text expires on September 8: if Congress does not vote on it by then, the tax automatically returns, less than a month before the first round of Brazil's presidential election on October 4. As of Wednesday, only the review committee had been created, with no agreement yet between party leaders on its key posts, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
Other priorities on the table
Motta said the committee's chairmanship will be assigned by the House and its rapporteur role by the Senate. 'The goal is to use next week's window of concentrated effort to vote on the House floor and then the Senate floor', he said, according to InfoMoney. After the meeting, Motta handed the committee chairmanship to congressman Reginaldo Lopes (PT-MG), a member of the party's economic wing who helped negotiate Brazil's tax reform in Congress, according to Folha.
The meeting also set the pace for other government priorities: a constitutional amendment ending the '6x1' work schedule (six days on, one day off), a public security constitutional amendment, and a bill on critical minerals. Reports on the 6x1 schedule and public security are expected to reach the Constitution and Justice Committee the same week, according to Folha. Next week will be Congress's last with floor votes before the campaign recess, adding pressure on the Lula government to close deals before lawmakers turn fully to their state races.
The rapprochement between Lula and Alcolumbre follows more than three months of estrangement, triggered by the Senate's April rejection of Jorge Messias's nomination to Brazil's Supreme Court. The two resumed contact in early August, according to Folha. The joint committee still needs to be installed and both chambers still need to vote before the September 8 deadline, or the tax suspension will lapse.