The Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic) published a note this Wednesday, 3rd, in which it says that Brazil has the right to appeal the US investigation into forced labor – which suggests more tariffs on the country’s products – with the instruments provided for in the Reciprocity Law.
The Ministry also says that the government deeply disagrees with the North American conclusion on the issue and that it is “regrettable” that this issue has been distorted to justify protectionist measures.
“It is absurd to try to associate the competitiveness of the Brazilian economy with external inputs obtained through trade that violates human dignity. Brazil reserves the right to resort to the instruments provided for in the Reciprocity Law, unanimously approved by the National Congress, to address situations of injustice against the Brazilian State, without support from the rules of international trade”, writes the government in a note.
The document also says that the agreements signed by Brazil and Mercosur are committed to eliminating forced labor and that the Ministry of Labor remains available to continue cooperation with the USA on labor.
According to the text, the expectation is that USTR’s preliminary recommendations will not be converted into tariffs. And finally, he reinforces that the government will adopt measures to reduce the damage caused by tariffs to the economy, employment and income.
“The Government reaffirms the expectation that the USTR’s preliminary recommendations will not be converted into effective tariffs and reiterates that it will adopt measures to reduce the damage that may be caused to the economy, jobs and income of Brazilians”, he adds.
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The United States government proposed this Tuesday, the 2nd, a new tariff on Brazil of 12.5% in the open commercial investigation into slave labor. The measure also affects the European Union and 58 other countries because of the alleged “failure to impose and effectively enforce a ban on the import of goods produced with forced labor”.
The suggestion joins another part of the so-called section 301 investigation in which the US government identified other points of non-compliance in Brazil and proposed 25% tariffs on a series of Brazilian products.
