The US imposes a new 25% tariff on Brazil, which has promised to activate its reciprocity law
This tariff, which will take effect on July 22, is the result of a year-long investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into the South American giant's trade policies, a senior U.S. official told reporters.
Lula da Silva in Brasília / Evaristo Sa
The United States announced on Wednesday a new 25% tariff on certain imports from Brazil, whose government condemned the measure and announced the activation of a reciprocity law passed last year.
This tariff, which will take effect on July 22, is the result of a year-long investigation by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) into the South American giant's trade policies, a senior U.S. official told reporters.
A number of products, including beef, coffee, and certain aircraft parts, will be exempt, as well as other goods that the United States does not produce, the source added.
"Brazil’s unfair trading practices have prevented U.S. workers and producers from accessing this important market," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later explained in a statement.
Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the new tariff and stated that it "does not recognize the legitimacy of investigations not supported by multilateral trade rules," referring to the process initiated by the USTR.
"There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country. According to statistics from the U.S. government itself, over the past 15 years the United States has accumulated a surplus in goods and services with Brazil of $424.5 billion," reads a statement shared by the president on social media platform X.
"The price for that"
Shortly after the new tariff was announced, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Lula and his government "have not negotiated with the United States in good faith."
"Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.," the secretary of state noted in a post on social media platform X.
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