The Lula government is counting on a videoconference meeting next week with the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, to discuss the new tariffs on the country. Ministers Marcio Elias Rosa (Industry and Commerce) and Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs) should participate.
The meeting would be within the working group that was agreed at the May 7th meeting at the White House between presidents Luiz Lula Inácio da Silva and Donald Trump to discuss tariff issues.
On Wednesday, Vieira spoke with Greer on the sidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ministerial meeting in Paris.
— We talked, he said they were having great conversations with Brazil. I said that it is in our interest to maintain conversations, especially after the announcements, the reports, the final reports of the two investigations into section 301. He said that he was ready to continue the conversation and that the dialogue had always been very good — said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This week, the US released two reports on investigations conducted under Section 301 of the Trade Act. In the first of these, announced on Tuesday, the Trump administration suggested a 25% tariff on Brazilian products, in a process over commercial practices that it considers unfair, ranging from the use of Pix, through intellectual property issues, to court decisions and deforestation. The report considers that certain acts, policies and practices of the Brazilian government are “unreasonable” and “encumber or restrict” US trade with the country.
The following day, Washington announced the proposal for a tariff of up to 12.5% on 60 countries for alleged failures related to “forced labor”, which would mean that Brazil, for example, does not prevent the entry of products into the country that violate these rules. The report also points out irregularities in the country in specific segments. The movement was interpreted by economists and foreign trade experts as an attempt by Trump to rebuild his “tariff wall” after the US Supreme Court in February overturned the import taxes that had been announced by the Republican in 2025.
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Members of the Brazilian government believe that it will be easier to reverse, through negotiations with American authorities, the possible 25% tax on Brazilian products than the 12.5% announced this Wednesday.
The understanding is that, as the suggestion of taxation related to forced labor affects countries even aligned with the United States such as Argentina, it would be difficult to reach an agreement to free Brazil. There is also an understanding that the Trump administration uses this taxation to rebuild its tariff policy after the US Supreme Court’s decision in February this year to overturn them.
This taxation related to forced labor, however, can serve as an argument in negotiations to prevent the application of the 25% tariff. At the negotiating table, government representatives can say that the country is already subject to the 12.5% tariff and would not need new taxation.
