Vice-president says that project being processed in Congress creates “legal uncertainty” and “removes investment”
Vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), minister of Mdic (Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services), declared that the government is against projects being processed in Congress that deal with breaking and extending patents.
He also commented on the new Chinese quota for importing Brazilian meat. The statements were given to journalists this Thursday (12.Feb.2026) at the Mdic headquarters.
According to him, changes in intellectual property rules affect investments, innovation and competitiveness. He stated that the ministry is against compulsory licensing, which allows the breaking of patents, and also the extension of the protection period.
“When you break patents, you create legal uncertainty and deter investment”these.
For the vice-president, predictability is central to Nova Indústria Brasil (NIB), whose 1st axis is a more innovative industry.
The minister declared that the country needs to attract more research and development centers. “We need stable rules. Neither break patents nor extend deadlines beyond the expected”, he stated. According to him, the extension makes products more expensive for consumers and affects sectors such as health and agriculture.
Alckmin also cited the reduction in the average analysis period at Inpi (National Institute of Industrial Property). According to the minister, the time fell from 6 years and 2 months, in January 2023, to 4 years and 4 months currently.
The goal is to reach 2 years, international standard. “We got it when it was over 6 years old. We are already at 4 and we want to reach 2”, declared.
Meat and China
The vice president also discussed China’s decision to set an annual quota of around 1.1 million tons for meat imports. Brazil exported almost 1.7 million tons to the Asian country last year.
According to Alckmin, 2 requests were presented to the Chinese vice-president, Han Zheng, who presides over Cosban (Sino-Brazilian High-Level Commission for Concertation and Cooperation). The 1st is to exclude from the quota shipments made before January 1, 2026. The 2nd is to allow any volume not used by other suppliers to be destined for Brazil.
“The demand for meat is great. If a country doesn’t fill the quota, we want to fill that space”he stated. He also said that he is awaiting a response from the Chinese authorities and classified the removal of Brazilian meat from the surcharge announced by the United States as positive.
