The Brazilian government has taken another step toward applying the Economic Reciprocity Law against the United States, in response to the 50% tariff hike imposed by the US government on Brazilian products.
The application of the law – approved by the National Congress and sanctioned in April by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – enables Brazil to respond to any unilateral measures taken by other countries against Brazilian products.
It allows Brazil to impose tariff countermeasures in situations like the current one, in which the US imposes surtaxes on imports, harming the competitiveness of companies from other countries.
Help for negotiation
In light of the situation, the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex) – a collegiate body of 10 ministries responsible for formulating, implementing, and coordinating foreign trade policies – was prompted, initiating a process that includes, among its steps, notifying the United States about Brazil’s response to the tariff hike.
Before boarding his return flight to Brazil after an official mission to Mexico, Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Geraldo Alckmin said that the Reciprocity Law can help Brazil in negotiations with the US.
“I hope this can even help us accelerate the dialogue and negotiation. This is the disposition Brazil has always had. We need to remember that we have 201 years of partnership and friendship with the United States and that we have good economic complementarity,” Alckmin said.
Steel and coal
He cited the steel sector as an example. “We are the third largest buyer of metallurgical coal from the United States [used for steel production]. We produce the slab and sell it to the United States, which make the steel for automobiles, airplanes, and machines. You have complementarity, integration. That is the logic of foreign trade,” he argued.
In this way, the vice president added, “everyone wins, the whole society, with cheaper products that benefit society.”
Source: Agência Brasil