O estudo do velho fenômeno: impacto do investimento estrangeiro

A proposta de lei para melhorar a qualidade das informações sobre o investimento estrangeiro nos EUA, por meio de um estudo abrangente, foi iniciada no Senado (Senate) por meio do Senador Democrata Daniel Inouye, de Hawaii, em 20 de dezembro de 197387. O projeto passou pela Câmara dos Deputados (House of Representatives), sendo o ato assinado pelo Presidente Republicano Gerald Ford, em 26 de outubro de 197488.

86 _{―In 1977 and 1978 several committees of the U.S. Congress held hearings on foreign investment in U.S. real}

estate, particularly agricultural land. The hearings were prompted by the concerns of many farmers and their representatives‖ (AZEVEDO, 1982, p. 29).

87 _{O Senador Inouye era representante justamente do Hawaii, localidade que se encontrava significamente afetada}

Ao introduzir o Foreign Investment Study Act of 1974 (FISA)89, autorizando o estudo sobre o investimento estrangeiro, o Presidente Ford frisou a necessidade de se obter mais dados sobre o assunto por meio de uma investigação ampla a ser conduzida por instituições do Executivo federal (Departamento do Comércio e do Tesouro)90. O Presidente reforçou, ainda, que sua administração opor-se-ia a qualquer nova restrição ao investimento estrangeiro, exceto por questões absolutamente necessárias à segurança nacional ou para proteção de essencial interesse nacional91.

Conforme registro no relatório final do FISA, investimento estrangeiro nos EUA é um velho fenômeno, cujo último estudo realizado pelo Congresso sobre a presença de

para realização dos estudos para mapear a presença estrangeira em terra no país. Disponível em https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/93/s2840. Acesso: 13/11/2014.

88 _{O texto do FISA foi apresentado por meio do H.R. 15487 (93rd) que ganhou o nome, após a publicação, de}

Foreign Investment Study Act. Disponível em:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/93/hr15487#summary/libraryofcongress. Acesso: 13/11/2014.

89 _{Foreign Investment Study Act of 1974. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Foreign Commerce and Tourism of}

the Committee on Commerce United States Senate, 94th Cong., 2nd Sess., May 3rd, 1976 (1974).

90 _{A expressão – the Law – nos EUA envolve um mosaico complexo de regras e princípios expressos de várias}

formas de documentos, tais como: ―Constitutions (federal and state); Legislative acts (also known as statutes or

legislation); Judicial decisions in court cases (also known as case law.); Administrative regulations issued by

regulatory agencies‖ (PLATT, 2004, p. 44).

91 _{Observa-se, no discurso do Presidente Ford a seguir, o compromisso de sua gestão no sentido de concluir os}

estudos dentro de dezoito meses da assinatura do FISA: ―IT GIVES me great pleasure to have signed S. 2840, the

Foreign Investment Study Act of 1974. A recent study by the executive branch concluded that the available information on the activities of foreign investors in the United States is inadequate. The bill I sign into law today will go a long way toward remedying that deficiency. This bill provides for the Departments of Commerce and the Treasury to undertake comprehensive studies of foreign direct and portfolio investment in the United States. Under the authority provided by the bill they will (1) conduct "benchmark" surveys of all existing foreign direct and portfolio investment in the United States; (2) analyze the effects of foreign investment on the U.S. economy; (3) review our existing reporting requirements that apply to foreign investors; and (4) make recommendations on means for us to keep our information and statistics on foreign investment current. These surveys will be conducted early next year and cover data for 1974; an interim report of the results will be submitted to the Congress 12 months after the date of enactment of this act and a full and complete report, together with appropriate recommendations, within 18 months of the date of enactment. When this study is completed, we will be in a position to know better how to conduct ongoing monitoring of foreign investment activity in the United States. Earlier, this Administration had opposed new reporting systems which would have lacked the benefits of the information which will be generated by the actions under S. 2840. We are not opposed to keeping a watch on foreign investment, but we do want to do it in the most efficient and helpful way, with the aid of the greatest possible amount of data. As I sign this act, I reaffirm that it is intended to gather information only. It is not in any sense a sign of a change in America's traditional open- door policy towards foreign investment. We continue to believe that the operation of free market forces will direct worldwide investment flows in the most productive way. Therefore, my Administration will oppose any new restriction on foreign investment in the United States except where absolutely necessary on national security grounds or to protect an essential national interest‖ (FORD, 1974, grifei).

investimento direto estrangeiro em terras no país é datado de 1959, enquanto que o indireto mostra-se ainda mais antigo, ou seja, de 1941. A ausência de diagnóstico destacou a importância de os EUA melhorarem a qualidade dos números existentes, assim como o método de coleta de informações pelas organizações responsáveis:

The last benchmark study on direct investment was made in 1959 when such investment was a fraction of the 1973 figure, and that study was limited in its scope.

Information on foreign portfolio investment was derived from an even more outdated benchmark study undertaken by the Treasury Department in 1941. First and foremost, it was clear that the outdated data base needed to be improved, not only in the quality of the numbers, but also in the way information is gathered by Federal agencies. (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 1)

Na apresentação dos resultados alcançados pela Comissão de Comércio do Senado, em 3 de maio de 1976, o Senador Democrata Inouye, proponente do estudo e na qualidade de Presidente da Subcomissão de Comércio Exterior e Turismo, destacou que o investimento direto estrangeiro nos EUA era um velho fenômeno e que os EUA deviam o crescimento da maioria de suas indústrias ao capital estrangeiro. Porém, foi o volume e a rápida entrada de capital estrangeiro que chamou a atenção pública:

Foreign investment in the United States is an old phenomenon. We owe the growth of several major industries to foreigncapital. Foreign involvement here in some form has always been present even in those early postwar years when American capital appeared to dominate totally global investment, but it was the volume and suddenness of the increase which caught the public attention. (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 1, grifei).

A justificativa para um diagnóstico atualizado estava na preocupação com as possíveis implicações do aumento do investimento europeu e japonês, na acumulação de fundos dos países produtores de petróleo e no crescimento do número de propostas legislativas no Congresso, com o objetivo de elevar as restrições já existentes em relação ao investimento estrangeiro. Porém, mesmo diante de pressões externas, o discurso do governo, por meio de suas

elites políticas, na abertura dos trabalhos, sempre foi no sentido de manter a tradicional política de liberdade de investimento no país (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 3)92.

O FISA aprovado tinha o objetivo principal de diagnosticar o fenômeno do investimento estrangeiro direto nos EUA e estabelecer o arranjo institucional responsável pela realização do estudo93.

Enquanto o Secretário do Comércio detinha o poder de conduzir os estudos relacionados ao investimento estrangeiro direto, competia ao Secretário do Tesouro a pesquisa relativa ao investimento indireto nos EUA. Ambas as autoridades políticas estariam investidas dos recursos de poder necessários à realização das investigações determinadas pelo Presidente dos EUA (services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any agency), por meio do FISA, inclusive orçamento de U$3.000.000,00 (três milhões de dólares):

Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to carry out that part of the study relating to foreign direct investment, and to specifically:

(1) investigate and review the nature, scope, magnitude, and rate of foreign direct investment activities in the United States;

(2) survey the reasons foreign firms are undertaking direct investment in the United States; and

(3) identify the processes and mechanisms through which foreign direct investment flows into the United States, the financing methods used by foreign direct investors, and the effects of such financing on American financial markets.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out that part of the study relating to foreign portfolio investment, and to specifically:

(1) investigate and review the nature, scope, and magnitude of foreign portfolio investment activities in the United States;

(2) survey the reasons for foreign portfolio investment in the United States; and

(3) identify the processes and mechanisms through which foreign portfolio investment is made in the United States, the financing methods used, and the effects of foreign portfolio investment on American financial markets.

Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Treasury to establish whatever rules each deems necessary to carry out each of his functions under this Act. Authorizes each Secretary to require any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to maintain a complete record of any information which such Secretary determines is germane to his functions in the foreign direct investment and foreign

92 _{Segundo registro no relatório: ―Thus, we have sought to maintain our traditional policy of freedom for investments}

here by foreigners‖ (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 3).

93 _{A atual definição sobre estrangeiro, instituição estrangeira, investimento internacional, investimento direto}

(foreign, person, international investment e direct investiment) encontra-se regulamentada no Code of Federal

Regulations 15 CFR §801.2 (2014). Disponível em: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title15- vol3/xml/CFR-2014-title15-vol3-sec801-2.xml. Acesso: 05/10/2015.

portfolio investment studies to be conducted pursuant to this Act; and to furnish under oath any report containing whatever information such Secretary determines is necessary to carry out his functions in such studies.

Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Treasury to use the available services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government in conjunction with the study authorized in this Act. Requires the Secretaries to make a full and complete report to Congress of the findings made under the study authorized by this Act, together with such recommendations as they may think appropriate.

Authorizes appropriations of up to $3,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act.

O FISA dotou os Secretários do Comércio e do Tesouro de amplos poderes para investigar e rever a natureza e o escopo do investimento estrangeiro nos EUA e, ainda, identificar os processos e os mecanismos através dos quais o investimento estrangeiro flui, os métodos financeiros e os efeitos no mercado americano.

Veja que o governo americano desenvolveu um aparato para manejar operações internas ao Estado por meio do FISA, franqueou os poderes necessários às elites políticas (Secretários do Comércio e do Tesouro), à realização dos estudos relativos ao investimento estrangeiro direto e indireto no país.

O déficit de informações em relação aos proprietários de terras nos EUA em virtude do investimento estrangeiro direto tornava impossível a condução de uma política racional e coerente de controle:

The panic started in the 1970s with fear that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would buyout the country. The problem was information. A massive information deficit existed regarding who owned what. This led to the Foreign Investment Study Act of 1974 (FISA). The Act authorized a new study of foreign investment to be conducted. The House Report explained that current information "makes it impossible to determine the implications for foreign investment in the United States. . . . It is impossible in these circumstances to formulate a coherent and rational policy toward foreign investment". (WILSON, 2012, p. 6).

Assim, ao invés de se sucumbir à onda de sentimento ―anti-estrangeiro‖, o estudo concentrou-se no aumento de informações a serem disponibilizadas ao governo federal (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 3). A inexistência de evidências, que pudessem subsidiar a mudança da

política estadunidense então vigente, fortaleceu o entendimento de que o investimento estrangeiro era benéfico e por tal razão deveria ser bem-vindo no país94:

Furthermore, foreign investors are generally treated equally with domestic investors once they are established here, that is, they are accorded ―national treatment‖.

This policy is based on the premise that investment in this country from foreign sources is generally beneficial to our economy, just as is investment from domestic sources, and that the allocation of investment capital will be most productive if decisions on investment are left to the marketplace.

There is nothing in the findings of our study to indicate that this policy should be changed in any way. On the contrary, the study has reinforced our view that foreign investment is beneficial to our economy and that we should continue to welcome it. (U.S. SENATE, 1976, p. 8).

Os estudos realizados por instituições americanas evidenciaram ambiguidades e inconsistências no aparato burocrático de controle do investimento estrangeiro. Por outro lado, a pesquisa realizada por profissionais habilitados sinalizou a deficiência dos dados disponíveis dentro da máquina estatal para identificar o nível de investimento estrangeiro direto em terra. Porém, os debates seguiram o caminho aparentemente convergente no sentido de se garantir a entrada de capital externo no país em prol do desenvolvimento.