Entities from the productive sector in Brazil and the USA propose a new round of negotiations to avoid tariffs

Teams from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic) have held technical conversations with representatives of the Dolnald Trump government. Minister Márcio Elias Rosa, from Mdic, even had a virtual meeting with the representative of the White House commercial office, Jamieson Greer. According to him, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is determined that the government “never” leaves the negotiating table. In parallel, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) promoted public hearings for companies, associations, governments and other interested parties to present their arguments. The pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic for the PL, senator Flávio Bolsonaro, asked to participate and, in a speech, criticized the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and Lula. ? The USTR is the body responsible for formulating United States trade policy. It also conducts investigations into practices considered harmful to American commerce and can recommend measures such as the imposition of tariffs. Practical results and economic cooperation The entities say they hope that the negotiations already underway will lead to "practical and relevant results that reinforce predictability", they suggest, however, an "incremental approach, structured in two stages". "By first advancing the most immediate trade issues and then broadening the agenda to encompass longer-term strategic opportunities, both governments will be able to strengthen trust, increase competitiveness and establish stronger foundations for lasting economic cooperation," says the joint statement. The organizations argue that, in the short term, the governments of both countries should concentrate efforts to: • expand access to markets for products aimed at energy security, the development of data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure; • deepen regulatory cooperation to facilitate market access in the automotive, pharmaceutical, animal health and medical device sectors; • accelerate patent examination and reduce the backlog of patent applications in Brazil, especially in the health and biopharmaceutical sectors, as well as strengthen the fight against piracy; • advance critical minerals cooperation on joint geological mapping. In a second step, CNI, Amcham Brasil and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggest including other areas of interest to countries, such as digital economy, industrial decarbonization and transport. "Advancing these issues through negotiation, instead of imposing tariffs, tends to produce more lasting results and avoid undesirable effects for companies, workers and consumers in both countries", adds the note.