The Brazilian Government stated this Thursday, 20th, that it wants to continue negotiations with the United States, following the announcement of the withdrawal of 40% tariffs on certain Brazilian products.
“The Brazilian Government reiterates its willingness to continue dialogue as a means of resolving issues between the two countries, in line with the 201-year tradition of excellent diplomatic relations”, highlighted the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
Thus, Brazilian diplomacy insisted that it will maintain “negotiations with the USA with a view to removing additional tariffs on the remaining bilateral trade matters”.
Lula da Silva, after saying he was “happy” with Washington’s decision, also took to social media to emphasize that “the overturning of the 40% tax imposed by the North American government on several Brazilian agricultural products is a victory for dialogue, diplomacy and common sense”.
“The frank dialogue I had with the President [dos Estados Unidos, Donald] Trump and the performance of our negotiating teams, formed by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and ministers Fernando Haddad and Mauro Vieira on the Brazilian side, made important advances possible”, he highlighted.
Earlier, the president of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), Ricardo Alban, had already praised the decision to remove the 40% tariff on 238 Brazilian agricultural products.
The North American President today removed 40% tariffs on certain Brazilian products, including beef, vegetables, coffee and cocoa, after negotiations with his Brazilian counterpart.
As part of the trade war, Trump had imposed a 10% tariff on Brazilian exports, which he later increased to 40%, bringing the total to 50%, in retaliation for the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of the American leader, who was sentenced on September 11 to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup following Lula da Silva’s electoral victory in 2022.
The White House said last week that Trump was reversing some global tariffs that had originally been announced in April.
Today’s decision harmonizes Trump’s plans, ensuring that neither the April nor the July tariffs apply to certain products, reported the Associated Press (AP).
The new executive order, signed by Trump on Tuesday, eliminates tariffs on certain products imported from Brazil or removed from warehouses since November 13.
The exemptions are detailed in two lists that include everything from meat and other products derived from beef to spices, fruits and grains such as coffee, cocoa and derivatives, as well as many other agricultural products.
Also included are fossil fuels, coal products and chemicals, liquefied gases, cellulose and numerous components for civil aviation.
Trump and Lula, who promised to defend the country’s sovereignty, began negotiations after a chance meeting in the corridors of the UN General Assembly in New York, in September, when, according to the leaders, a connection between them emerged.
The two presidents spoke by phone shortly afterwards and met in person on October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in a meeting described as positive by both sides.
Since then, teams from both governments have discussed a possible review of tariffs imposed on Brazil, a country that, according to official data, has had a trade deficit with the United States for fifteen years.
Last week, the Brazilian government classified Trump’s plan to eliminate certain tariffs on Brazilian agricultural products as positive, but said it was confident that it would continue to negotiate new reductions.