SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday he is in “no rush” to reciprocate tariffs imposed by the United States on goods from his country, and reiterated that his administration is open to negotiations.
Lula’s remarks came as his Foreign Ministry ordered trade body Camex to start analyzing whether a local reciprocity law could be used against the United States, after President Donald Trump slapped 50% duties on Brazilian goods.
“This is a process that takes a bit of time,” Lula said in an interview with Itatiaia radio. “We have to tell the United States that we also have actions we can take against them. But I am in no rush. What I want is to negotiate.”
Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretary Tatiana Prazeres said also on Friday that the country’s reciprocity law ultimately aims to help Brazil come to an understanding with the Trump administration.
Speaking at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce-Brazil on Friday, Prazeres said any countermeasures would involve a lengthy process and require consultations with the United States.
Officials from Latin America’s largest economy have repeatedly complained about the lack of room to negotiate tariffs with U.S. counterparts, with a letter sent in May by Lula’s administration proposing talks so far going unanswered.
Prazeres stressed that the newly launched reciprocity law process is “meant to support Brazil’s negotiating effort, while placing us at the table under different negotiating conditions.”
Washington raised tariffs on Brazilian goods to 50% from 10%, with Trump denouncing what he called unfair trade and accusing Brazil of a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, his far-right ally on trial for allegedly plotting a coup.
Key exports such as orange juice and aircraft were exempted from the tariff hike, but other major products sold by Brazil to the U.S., including coffee and meat, are now subject to the full tariff.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo and Marcela Ayres in Brasilia; Editing by Mark Porter and Daina Beth Solomon)
Comments