United States President Donald Trump announced a long-awaited package of commercial tariffs on Wednesday (2), in which he named “Liberation Day”-and the result was positive for Brazil. At least in relative terms.
This is the vision of Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo, who directed the World Trade Organization (WTO) between 2013 and 2020 and is today Global President of Operations of Ambipar.
“Brazil did very well, and the fact that it is a deficit in trade with the United States must have helped a lot,” Azevêdo told the Infomoney – Pondering that this relatively positive assessment only makes sense comparing the surcharge imposed on Brazil with those defined for other countries.
Trump has established reciprocal overflows for products imported from all countries with barriers considered disproportionate by the United States. In the case of Brazilian products, the additional rate announced was 10%. The surcharge varies on a case -by -case basis, and reaches 46% for Vietnam and 49% for Cambodia.
The 10% surcharge applied to Brazil is the lowest among all the rates imposed, along with Singapore and the United Kingdom. According to Bradesco’s simulation, a tariff like this would fit into a scenario of impact on the economy of $ 2 billion on Brazilian exports.
Azevêdo points out that there are still many questions to be answered – “I could write a book just listing questions.” It is not possible to know, for example, the origin of tariffs taken as a reference for the definition of the surcharge applied to each country. “Of course, they are not weighted tariffs. Other parameters are included, such as exchange rate manipulation and non -tariff barriers,” he says.
Continues after advertising
“In addition, President Trump has not explained whether these tariffs will be negotiated. It’s another big question,” says the ambassador.
Check out the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump
| Country | US charged tariff* (%) | Reciprocal rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 10 | 10 |
| Brazil | 10 | 10 |
| Singapore | 10 | 10 |
| Chile | 10 | 10 |
| Australia | 10 | 10 |
| Türkiye | 10 | 10 |
| Colombia | 10 | 10 |
| Israel | 33 | 17 |
| Filipinas | 34 | 17 |
| European Union | 39 | 20 |
| Japan | 46 | 24 |
| Malaysia | 47 | 24 |
| South Korea | 50 | 25 |
| India | 52 | 26 |
| Pakistan | 58 | 29 |
| South Africa | 60 | 30 |
| Switzerland | 61 | 31 |
| Taiwan | 64 | 32 |
| Indonesia | 64 | 32 |
| China | 67 | 34 |
| Thailand | 72 | 36 |
| Bangladesh | 74 | 37 |
| Sri Lanka | 88 | 44 |
| Vietnam | 90 | 46 |
| Cambodia | 97 | 49 |
* Includes currency manipulation and commercial barriers
What are reciprocal tariffs?
The concept of “reciprocal fare” starts from the principle of equating charges: If the country charges it 15% on an American product, the US will apply the same 15% on the equivalent product from that country. However, this logic ignores technical aspects of international trade and disregards commitments signed in multilateral agreements. For many analysts, this model makes room for political discretion and intensifying commercial disputes.
Continues after advertising
In the table released by the Trump administration, the countries were organized according to the level of commercial barriers they impose on the United States. The methodology adopted considered three factors: the difference between US import fares and its partners, the internal tax burden of each country and the presence of non-tax barriers.
Based on these criteria, Washington determined the application of a surcharge corresponding to half of the so -called “level of protection” identified. The approach, however, has been the target of criticism from experts, which point out the inaccuracy by mixing internal taxes with import tariffs. Another controversial point is the difficulty in quantifying non-tax barriers, such as environmental requirements or intellectual property rules.
In the case of Brazil, the calculated level of protection was 10%. As this is the floor established by the decree, the country will be the target of a 10% surcharge on its exports to the US.
