सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Kathmandu. Brazil has no intention of entering a trade war with the United States, despite US President Donald Trump imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel, a Brazilian government official said. Brazil is the second-largest exporter of steel to the United States after Canada, with a target of 4.8 million tonnes by 2024.
“The government has not discussed this issue, but opposes trade blockades,” Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha told reporters when asked about possible retaliation for the tariffs. “Brazil does not encourage or enter into any trade war,” Padilha added. However, this contradicts comments made by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last month. He said he would retaliate if Trump imposed tariffs on Brazil.
“It’s very simple: if he imposes tariffs on Brazilian products, Brazil will impose tariffs on products exported from the United States,” Lula, 79, said on the occasion. Lula said he wanted to improve relations with the United States and increase trade with Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China. Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said unilateral tariffs like those imposed by Trump were “counterproductive for the global economy.” “This new tax increase does not only affect Brazil, but targets the entire world, and Brazil is watching how other countries react before deciding how to respond to Trump,” he said.
US President Trump imposed similar tax increases on steel during his first term to protect American producers from unfair competition. However, Brazil was exempted after agreeing to import quotas. “Brazil is likely to choose diplomacy over retaliation,” Jackson Campos, director of institutional relations at AGL Cargo export company, told AFP. “Negotiating through diplomacy would be an option, because it would have an immediate impact,” Campos said. If an agreement cannot be reached, Brazil could try to diversify its market by looking at India, South Korea and Africa.”
The American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil said in a statement that it expects a solution through negotiations, as the tariffs on steel and aluminum are likely to significantly affect Brazilian exports in these areas.
“In 2024, Brazil exported more than $5.7 billion in steel and iron to the United States. In the same year, Brazil exported $267 million worth of aluminum to the US market, equivalent to 16.7 percent of Brazil’s global sales. “The country’s market has also been affected by the significant increase in imports, especially from countries such as China, which already compete with the US,” said the Brazilian Steel Institute. “The institute concluded that ‘there is no possibility that Brazil will block steel products from third countries to the United States as a result of trade protectionist measures,’” Trump said.
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