Brazilian and US government representatives will meet this week to discuss tariffs that the United States imposed on Brazilian imports in July, following a telephone conversation between Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump last week. According to Brazilian officials, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer contacted the Brazilian government shortly after the presidential call. During that conversation, Lula characterized the US tariffs at 25 percent on Brazilian products as unfounded.
Brazil's Trade Minister Marcio Rosa and representatives from the country's foreign affairs ministry will meet with the US Office of Trade Representative (USTR) this week to address the trade dispute. The Brazilian government did not disclose a specific meeting date. The USTR implemented the tariffs following a year-long Section 301 investigation into what it determined were unfair Brazilian trade practices.
The investigation cited Brazil's restrictive ethanol market as a key factor. Additional concerns raised by the USTR included organized crime, corruption, deforestation, and alleged unfair competition from Brazil's digital payments system, Pix. While certain products including pig iron, iron ore, rare-earth metals, crude oil, coffee and beef have been exempted from the tariffs, other major Brazilian exports face the duties.
Products subject to the tariffs include ethanol, sugar and beef tallow. The upcoming negotiations represent a significant development in US-Brazil trade relations amid broader trade tensions that the Trump administration has pursued with multiple trading partners. The outcome of these discussions could substantially impact Brazilian exports and the bilateral trade relationship.
Source: argusmedia.com