The Minister of Labor, , said that they had adopted a “lame excuse” to try to tax Brazil again. When countering the North American threat of a new tariff, Marinho stated that it was all just illusion.
The USTR (Office of the United States Trade Representative) on 59 countries, including Brazil, pointing out alleged use of forced labor.
The Minister of Labor refutes the accusations and says that the Americans presented yet another narrative based on “untruths” to apply tariffs to Brazil.
For Marinho, the president of the USA, decided to look for an alternative after suffering a setback that blocked the tariffs imposed last year by the Republican.
“It’s just a lame excuse, just like they did last year,” he told the Panel.
In 2025, when announcing the first tariff against Brazil, the US government claimed that the country had a trade deficit, but the Brazilian government countered and said that there is one in this relationship.
The Minister of Labor reinforced that Brazil is a reference in the ILO (International Labor Organization) and that Brazilian customs is capable of preventing the arrival of products resulting from forced labor.
“A decision made based on a lot of untruth, we owe absolutely nothing to anyone. It is the countries that come to Brazil to learn how it is done”, he stated.
Marinho said that Brazil still wants to establish partnerships and seek dialogue, but reinforced the speech adopted by the president during the ministerial meeting, that the country will seek new commercial partners.
Furthermore, he argued that if there is no further negotiation path. “The government could have adopted it earlier. We don’t want to use it, but we will, if necessary. There’s no need to be bravado,” he told the Panel.
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