The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, stated this Thursday, 16th, that the United States applied a 25% tariff on Brazilian products because the country did not bow to the intentions of American President, Donald Trump. According to Vieira, during the negotiations, the White House demanded Brazil's "capitulation".
Mauro Vieira says the US applied tariffs because Brazil 'didn't bow down' to Trump's advances
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, stated this Thursday, 16th, that the United States applied a 25% tariff on Brazilian products because the country did not bow to the intentions of American President,...
"What bothers the United States government is the fact that Brazil has not bowed to the unreasonable claims and unreasonable demands presented during the negotiations," said Vieira, in a statement to journalists at the Itamaraty Palace. "I cite as an example demands for total and unrestricted and exclusive opening to the United States of entire sectors of the Brazilian economy, without any counterpart for Brazilian products. In other words, they demanded capitulation."
Vieira also stated that, since March 2025, the Brazilian government has had more than 30 face-to-face, virtual or telephone meetings with White House representatives. Only 11 contacts were made with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the US Trade Representative, Jamierson Greer.
The minister defended Brazil from the issues investigated by Section 301 which, according to him, was just a way found by the American government to circumvent the decision of the United States Supreme Court that prevented the application of tariffs unilaterally, such as the 50% rate applied to the country in July last year.
According to Vieira, Brazilian commercial practices are legitimate and do not harm United States trade. "All the allegations made by Americans to justify the application of tariffs have no basis in reality," he said.
"Pix is a public payments infrastructure created by the Central Bank and is available to all institutions operating in Brazil. It is not serious to talk about unfair competition generated by Pix. The accusations about deforestation are also absurd. Since 2022, we have significantly reduced deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado", he declared.
Vieira called on journalists to announce Brazil's position after the American government announced, on Wednesday night, the 15th, the imposition of 25% tariffs on Brazilian products, based on the Section 301 investigation.
Behind the scenes, allies of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are discussing two options: using the Reciprocity Law against the United States and raising the tone of the conflict, or continuing with the diplomatic negotiations carried out since the beginning of American President Donald Trump's attack against Brazil, in July 2025, to try to undo the new taxation.
Read Also: Rubio says Brazil was taxed 25% because Lula did not negotiate with the US in good faith
Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Ultima Hora
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