Brazil seeks to avoid 50% punitive tariffs of the US They would start within a week, but high -level conversations are stagnant and US companies are reluctant to face President Donald Trump, according to officials and industry leaders.
Trump linked the tariffs, who has said that they would go into force on August 1to the treatment of Brazil to former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is being tried for accusations of planning a coup d’etat to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva from assuming the position. Lula has described the threat of the “unacceptable blackmail” tax.
There have been no new diplomatic conversations since last month, and a Brazilian counterproposal sent in May was unanswered, They told Reuters two diplomats with knowledge of the matter.
The Brazilian vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, He told journalists on Thursday that he reiterated the country’s willingness to negotiate in a conversation held on Saturday with the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick.
The lack of communication has left Brazil with less and less options as the deadline is approaching.
“If he wanted to speak, he would lift the phone and call me“Lula about Trump said at an event on Thursday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The negotiations are complicated by the United States’ concerns about Bolsonaro’s prosecution, a Trump ally, a diplomat said, qualifying it as an important obstacle.
Trump announced the proposal to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil on July 9, despite the US commercial surplus with the largest economy in Latin America, What exposes it to one of the highest levies in the world, close to the rate of 55% of China.
In a series of 18 meetings, Alnkmin has urged representatives of US companies such as General Motors, John Deere and Alphabet to press Washington on the subject. However, The signatures are reluctant to face Trump for fear of reprisals, according to a government official and Ricardo Alban, president of the main industrial lobby in Brazil.
“Things are very tense,” Alban told journalists on Thursday. Also on Thursday, a group of Democratic senators condemned Tariffs to Brazil as a “clear abuse of power” in a letter to Trump.
Tariffs could have a serious economic impact. The CNI estimates that more than 100,000 jobs could be lost in Brazilwhich could cut 0.2% of the country’s gross domestic product. The powerful pressure group of the country’s agribusiness, CNA, PRevé that the value of its exports to the United States could fall in half.
Alban said that the potential blow for exporters could be worse than the Covid-19 pandemic, And he added that business leaders are asking the government for help, suggesting new lines of credit.
In response, some companies are already adjusting their commercial strategies. The Weg motors manufacturer studies a plan to use their plants from Mexico and India to supply the United States, his financial boss told analysts. The Naturafrig food exporter has begun to redirect shipments to other countries, according to its commercial chief, Fabrizzio Capuci.
Other companies are resorting to court. Orange juice producer Johanna Foods, for example, has sued the Trump administration for the proposed tariffs. Sectors companies ranging from steel to chemicals also face cancellations of export contracts, according to an advisor who asked not to be appointed.
