This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
At least 82 countries have reduced taxes or begun subsidizing fuel since the price surge that followed the United States’ attack on Iran at the end of February. Brazil is on the list, according to a survey published by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio.
In Europe, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy have adopted measures to ease the cost of energy. In Latin America, Brazil and Peru are relying on subsidies to contain the impact at the pump.
Chile is taking its own path. The country uses a price-stabilization mechanism known as Mepco, which adjusts the charges on fuel according to fluctuations in the international market. With prices rising, the tax on diesel became negative in 18 of 44 weeks, which in practice worked as a subsidy for consumers.
The wave of measures reflects how much fuel weighs on household budgets and on inflation. Gasoline and diesel make it more expensive to transport goods and passengers, and the increase spreads to the prices of food and services. That is why governments with very different profiles have chosen to give up revenue or spend public funds to hold prices down.
In Brazil, the issue intersects with the debate over Petrobras’s pricing policy. The state-run oil company has a decisive influence on the price charged at gas stations, and how it passes on or cushions changes in oil prices abroad is at the center of the discussion about how to protect consumers without compromising the finances of the company and the government.
At the origin of the crisis, the economic damage from the war is large. A report from the credit insurer Allianz Trade, also cited by El Mercurio, estimates the cost of the conflict for Gulf countries at around US$ 200 billion. More than 80 energy facilities were hit, mainly in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
The same report projects that the total bill could reach US$ 790 billion. Damage to the infrastructure of one of the regions that produce and export the most oil in the world helps explain the pressure on international prices, which is felt by consumers far away from the Middle East.
A comparison among countries shows there is no single recipe. While part of Europe chose to cut taxes, Brazil and Peru bet on subsidies, and Chile relied on an automatic mechanism that already existed. In every case, relief at the pump carries a cost borne by the public budget.
Reporting from El Mercurio (p. 12 (Chile) – países que reduziram impostos ou subsidiaram combustíveis), El Mercurio (p. 6 (Emirados Árabes Unidos) – relatório da Allianz Trade sobre o custo da guerra no Golfo).
Deixe um comentário