The new law allows the South American giant to ignore WTO guidelines that prohibit favoring or harming a member of the bloc with tariffs and establishes that the response, "to the extent possible," must be proportional to the economic impact caused by the other party.

The Trade Reciprocity Law, which authorizes the Brazilian government to adopt trade measures against countries and blocs that impose unilateral barriers to its products in the international market, has come into effect in response to the trade conflict initiated by the United States.

The initiative, which was approved Friday by the Latin American country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, allows the Brazilian government to increase taxes on imported products from a country or economic bloc that "negatively impact (its) international competitiveness" or "interfere with (its) legitimate and sovereign options."

The new law responds to the escalating trade war unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump and allows Brazil to ignore World Trade Organization (WTO) guidelines that prohibit favoring or harming a member of the bloc with tariffs and establishes that the response, "to the extent possible," must be proportional to the economic impact caused by the other party.

The text previously passed through Congress, which approved it unanimously on April 2, coinciding with the imposition of 10% tariffs by the White House, which went into effect three days later.

Likewise, the Brazilian government suggested earlier this month the possibility of filing a complaint with the WTO after learning of the new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, as Brazil is the third largest exporter of these metals to the United States, according to Agencia Brasil.

Last Wednesday, Lula criticized his U.S. counterpart's policies during the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Honduras, where he emphasized that "trade wars have no winners."