Aprimorando a Zona Franca de Manaus

The report analyzes the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM), noting that while it is named a 'free trade zone', it functions more like an 'enterprise zone' by focusing on regional development and local employment rather than international trade. The authors argue that current tax incentives have not significantly improved productivity or wages, with 59% of employees earning up to two minimum wages in 2019. The document recommends redefining the ZFM's identity and linking tax benefits to local hiring quotas, education, infrastructure reinvestment, and sustainable activities that leverage the Amazon biome's comparative advantages.

• The Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) does not operate as a typical free trade zone focused on international commerce; instead, it resembles an Enterprise Zone (ZE) by using tax incentives to attract companies for regional economic development and local employment.
• Despite high tax exemptions, the ZFM has failed to provide significant gains in industrial productivity or improved wages; in 2019, 59% of employees in the Polo Industrial de Manaus (PIM) earned up to two minimum wages, and labor costs represented only 5% of turnover, compared to a 2018 Brazilian average of 11%.
• The ZFM's industrial model creates logistical inefficiencies because tax incentives encourage production in Manaus for the domestic market (primarily the Southeast), requiring long and costly transport routes for components and finished goods.
• The Basic Productive Process (PPB) can cause productive and energy inefficiencies by requiring the use of national components (such as air conditioning compressors from São Paulo) even when more efficient international alternatives exist.
• Tax expenditures for the ZFM's industrial sector exceeded R$ 6 billion in 2019, according to the Receita Federal do Brasil.
• The report suggests that the ZFM should transition toward a model that leverages the comparative advantages of the Amazon biome, linking incentives to sustainable activities and the use of regional raw materials.
• International comparisons show that successful Enterprise Zones, such as those in France, condition tax exemptions on the hiring of local residents (e.g., at least 50% of the workforce).
• The ZFM's legal validity and incentives were extended by Constitutional Amendment 83/2014 from 2023 to 2073, justified by the goals of regional development and job creation.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). Aprimorando a Zona Franca de Manaus. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AMZ2030-Aprimorando-a-Zona-Franca-de-Manaus.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Aprimorando a Zona Franca de Manaus. 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AMZ2030-Aprimorando-a-Zona-Franca-de-Manaus.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Aprimorando a Zona Franca de Manaus |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AMZ2030-Aprimorando-a-Zona-Franca-de-Manaus.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021aprimorando, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Aprimorando a Zona Franca de Manaus}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AMZ2030-Aprimorando-a-Zona-Franca-de-Manaus.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }