Considerations on the foreign orientation of the Brazilian industry in the 90’s

Abstract

The Brazilian industry in the 90`s was affected by both the macroeconomic environment and some national structural reforms such as the rapid and profound commercial openness. Given the magnitude and specificity of this openness, the present work aims at identifying the existence of structural changes toward a foreign orientation of the Brazilian industry. As for the imports, a structural change is identified departing from the technologically-heavy sector, on the one hand, and the capital goods sector, on the other. As for the exports, the sectors that depend strongly on natural resources are still predominant, fact that reveals a – competitive fragility of the national industry- which continues to be extremely dependent on the agroindustry assets and natural resources. These resources are characterized by low-added value and low technological demand, what makes the national industry more dependent on the international commodities market.