Financiamento à exportação de serviços de engenharia pelo BNDES: estudo do modelo (1998-2017) e possibilidades de redesenho a partir do Direito Econômico e da Economia Política

Abstract

Over the past ten years, a recurring issue in the Brazilian economic and political debate has been the export credit for engineering goods and services from the Brazilian Development Bank - BNDES. This thesis analyzes this issue using an approach that involves tools from economic law and political economy. The research is based on the observation that there is a gap in academic production and recurring inaccuracies in diagnoses about the flaws, potentialities and possible alternatives for this line of credit. Given this scenario, the following research question is formulated: what legal and economic instruments can be structured so that export credit for engineering services can be redesigned in a way that ensures greater effectiveness and lower risk? Based on this central problem, the investigation unfolds along five axes: (i) the constitutional commands of the economic order and the possibilities for state action in promoting exports; (ii) Brazil's history in export financing and the potential of this policy for economic development; (iii) the design of the Brazilian export financing system, with emphasis on the specificities of the line aimed at engineering services; (iv) the criticisms and diagnoses produced by agencies such as the CGU, TCU and the BNDES CPI; and (v) the possible legal and institutional alternatives to modernize this policy, with greater efficiency and less exposure to risks. The research hypothesis maintains that BNDES financing for the export of engineering and construction goods and services has had significant economic impacts that are compatible with the constitutional precepts of the economic order. However, its continuity requires reformulations that minimize risks, especially after episodes of default, and adapt this public policy to new technological, social and environmental contexts, in such a way as to allow Brazilian companies to once again compete significantly in the international market for large infrastructure projects. The results of the research indicate that the criticisms directed at BNDES, especially in the context of the financing examined in this thesis, have proven to be disproportionate and do not justify the discontinuation of this instrument. The study points out that its interruption was linked, above all, to the political crisis that affected the country in the last decade. Given this scenario, the thesis advocates the formulation of a redesign of this credit line in such a way that a state policy is structured, technically based and institutionally robust, in such a way that it can withstand the oscillations of the political environment and ensure the continuity of strategies essential to long-term national development.