Brazil chooses negotiation over retaliation on US tariffs – Finance Minister
On Thursday, March 12, Brazil’s Finance Minister, Fernando Haddad, announced that Brazil would not immediately retaliate against the new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Instead, the country will seek negotiations with the United States.
This follows the implementation of increased tariffs by the US on Wednesday, a move that aims to shift global trade in favor of the US and has already sparked retaliation from Canada and Europe.
Brazil, one of the largest sources of US steel imports, had been considering filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization or taxing US products in response to the tariffs. However, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has now instructed his economic team to pursue dialogue with the US government.
“President Lula told us to remain calm, noting that in the past, we have negotiated under conditions that were even more unfavorable than the current ones,” Minister Haddad explained.
Last week, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin held what was described as a positive call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick regarding the US tariff policy. Both sides agreed that discussions between the two governments would continue.
