On Monday (April 14), Brazil put into effect its Commercial Reciprocity Law. The legislation allows the government to adopt trade measures against countries and blocs that impose unilateral barriers to Brazilian products.
The bill was approved by Congress at the beginning of the month and sanctioned last week, without vetoes, by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Trade war
The new law comes in response to the escalation of the trade war triggered by the American president, Donald Trump, against most countries, which has intensified in recent days, more specifically against China.
Regarding Brazil, the tariff imposed by the US was 10% on all products exported to the US. The exception to this tariff range is steel and aluminum, for which the surcharge imposed by the Americans was 25%, affecting Brazilian companies, which are the third largest exporters of these metals to the US.
The Brazilian government has not yet announced countermeasures regarding the American tariffs.
Source: Agência Brasil