Congress advances a law to respond reciprocally to foreign tariffs on Brazilian exports.
Brazilian Economy Minister Fernando Hadad said Tuesday that he would find it "strange" if the new tariffs announced by the Donald Trump administration, which could go into effect this Wednesday, would affect his exports.
"We would find it strange if Brazil suffered any kind of unjustified retaliation, once we have sat down to negotiate with them, precisely to strengthen our cooperation," the Brazilian minister said during his working visit to Paris.
Haddad explained that the government will not have more information until this Wednesday, when the new tariffs Trump intends to impose on US exports to strengthen his own industry are scheduled to go into effect.
An argument that Haddad challenged, recalling recent words from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in which he warned that if Trump implemented protectionist measures, "the world runs the risk of slower growth," and with it, the productivity of the US economy itself.
"At this point, we can't predict what the global reactions to these policies will be, since we don't even know what he has announced," he said, according to the newspaper 'O Globo'.
While the details of this new Washington demand are unclear, in the case of Brazil, Trump suggested a reciprocity policy would be adopted, citing ethanol as an example of the disparity in import rates.
Thus, Brazilian ethanol would be taxed like the one applied in Brazil, at 18 percent, while the rate in the United States is 2.5 percent.
RECIPROCITY MEASURES
Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Affairs Committee approved a bill this Tuesday to implement reciprocity measures for foreign tariffs on Brazilian exports.
The text, which will now be debated by the Chamber of Deputies unless appealed, provides legal tools for the government to respond to any type of commercial damage, including stricter environmental criteria.
Those responsible for the text have clarified that this is not "retaliation" against the United States, but rather a "protection" that encompasses all markets in order to guarantee the security of Brazilian exports.
