The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva repudiated the imposition, by the United States, of 25% tariffs on the import of Brazilian products, confirmed by the government of Donald Trump on Wednesday night (15). According to Planalto, the date "will go down in the history of relations between Brazil and the USA as a regrettable milestone."
Government repudiates tariffs, talks about activating reciprocity law and blames Bolsonaro clan
The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva repudiated the imposition, by the United States, of 25% tariffs on the import of Brazilian products, confirmed by the government of Donald Trump on Wednesday night...
In a note released early this Thursday morning (16), by the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom), the Executive stated that it "will immediately begin the procedures to activate the instruments provided for in the Reciprocity Law" and "will return to the topic within the scope of the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO)".
The Economic Reciprocity Law allows Brazil to respond to unilateral measures adopted by countries or economic blocs that negatively impact the country's international competitiveness.
"There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country. According to statistics from the North American government itself, the USA has accumulated, over the last 15 years, US$424.5 billion in surplus of goods and services with Brazil", states the Secom note.
"Brazil does not recognize the legitimacy of investigations without support from multilateral trade rules. Despite this, we never leave the negotiating table to defend national interests", the statement continues.
The text also highlights that the government "will continue to adopt measures to reduce the damage caused to the economy and the income of Brazilians", in addition to "continuing to diversify commercial partnerships and open new markets for the country's products".
Secom's note holds the Bolsonaro family responsible for the new tariff: "It is sad to note that the regrettable outcome of the investigations based on Section 301 is part of the plot constructed with the active collaboration of the Bolsonaro family. They are false patriots who planned and publicly defended actions against our country, driven by electoral objectives."
Senator and pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) participated, at the beginning of the month, in a hearing at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in Washington, on trade investigations against Brazil. At the time, he criticized the Lula government and stated that tariffs have been used by the current government to obtain political benefits.
US threatens to expand sanctions if Brazil retaliates 25% tariff
The American government stated that it may adopt new measures if Brazil applies the Reciprocity Law in response to the 25% surcharge on Brazilian products, which comes into force on July 22
Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Economia
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