rburns%master@Sun.COM (Randy Burns) (11/22/88)
There has been much talk in how the Brazilian government has made it a national policy to develop a local computer industry. This is move that mimics their development of a local automobile industry. It is unfortunate that they are attempting to develop their computer industry using much the same policies of extreme and accross the board protectionism. I suggest that Brazil develop its computer industry using another means:National Site Licensing. Brazil should license the rights to manufacture a representative range of computer products, and software from the top vendors of these products. Currently, these computer vendors are getting very, very little revenues from Brazil or any developing country. If the Brazilian goverment purchased a national site license, this technology and software could be duplicated in Brazil free of charge. The inventors and software vendors would still be paid. The Brazilian government could pay for its subsidy through increased tax revenues brought about through better overal productivity rather than through raising consumer prices of information products. Protection, could still have a place in this policy. Local companies could apply for protection from competive imports, after they had actually gone into productions, and only a level of tariffs that would guarentee that their actual production would be purchased. Since the information products market is complex, imports of items for which there is no local source should be allowed. This plan is very similar to the way that Japan actually developed. The Japanese government played a very active role in importing new technologies, but was prohibited by early treaties from imposing tariffs. This plan would allow Brazil to treat is software much like large corporations do now. It would open the possibility of distributing software updates through networks. It would also open the possibility of a much higher degree of standardization than exists in the American computer industry. This approach could actually enable Brazil to leap to the forefront of industrial nations. It could also develop a sophisticated computer market where none now exists. It is an opportunity which should not be passed up.