Lula said that “he is not in a hurry” in responding to the tariffs of the United States and reiterated the willingness to dialogue

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said that his country will not rush to adopt reprisals against tariffs of 50% imposed by the United States to a good part of Brazil’s imports, and reiterated that his government keeps the door open to negotiation.

“It is a slightly delayed process, I’m not in a hurry to apply reciprocity,” Lula said in an interview with local radio Itatiaia. The president stressed that he is looking for a negotiation with Washington in conditions of equality: “For now, Brazil is open to negotiation with the United States. What happens is that Brazil does not need to lower your head against the United States,” he said.

The measures of the US administration were adopted as a pressure in the context of the trial in the Supreme Court of Brazil against former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of planning a coup d’etat. The former president maintains narrow links with Donald Trump, who announced the increase in tariffs from 10% to 50%.

After Washington’s decision, the Brazilian government authorized the beginning of consultations to study the application of the reciprocity law. With that mandate, the Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) has 30 days to determine whether it is pertinent to activate economic reprisals.

In case of a favorable opinion, the CAMEX will establish a working group responsible for designing countermeasures that may include new tariffs on American products and protection mechanisms in intellectual property. Lula said that the Executive will evaluate what assets of the United States could be the subject of these measures.

The ruler said that currently 73% of US imports enter Brazil without taxes, including eight of the ten imported products, which leaves a maneuver margin for possible adjustments in case of a commercial escalation.

In parallel to the internal process, Brazil presented consultations before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and hired a law firm in the United States to defend their interests in the framework of the tariff conflict.

The Secretary of Foreign Trade of Brazil, Tatiana Prazeres, stressed that the objective of the reciprocity law is “to support the negotiating effort of Brazil, while putting us at the table in different negotiation conditions.” He stressed that any countermelted would take time and include new consultations with Washington.

The Brazilian government had sent a letter to the US administration proposing negotiations, without obtaining response. Brazil officials have repeatedly expressed their frustration due to the lack of disposition of the United States to open a dialogue channel.

Meanwhile, some key products, such as orange juice and airplanes, were out of the new tariffs. However, strategic goods such as coffee and flesh were taxed with the complete 50%, which could directly affect Brazilian exporters.

Lula insisted that he prefers to keep the way of understanding open before resorting to reprisals: “This is a process that takes time. We have to tell the United States that we can also take measures against them. But I am not in a hurry. What I want is to negotiate,” he reiterated. Source: Infobae

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