MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Alckmin to push for return of US steel import quotas

There's no tax war, there's an understanding based on the public interest,” Alckmin underlined

Brazilian Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, defended on Wednesday the establishment of exemption quotas for steel and aluminum to be shipped to the United States, as it happened during US President Donald Trump's previous government (2017-2021).

Thus, South America's largest country could export a certain amount of steel and aluminum without paying the full 25% tariffs the Republican administration announced earlier this month. Alckmin also said he would try to negotiate with US authorities the terms of the new import tax.

“It's always a good way to seek a win-win situation,” Alckmin said after an event at the Planalto Palace. He also recalled that the United States has a surplus of US$ 7.2 billion with Brazil. In other words, it sells more goods and services than it buys. In addition, Brazil's final import tax on US products is very low, at 2.7%, since many imported products have a zero tax rate, such as machinery and equipment.

“So we're going to talk to find a good understanding. There's no tax war, there's an understanding based on the public interest,” Alckmin underlined.

“[The tax] was not against Brazil. The rate that was imposed was for the whole world. So it wasn't discriminatory. The United States is an important trading partner for Brazil, it's not the biggest, the biggest is China, but it's where we export [equipment with] added value, airplanes, equipment, and on the other hand, it's the biggest investor in Brazil,” Alckmin also said.

During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum but then granted exemption quotas to partners, including Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, the main suppliers of these products to the United States. The intention is to try to keep the quotas as Brazil has them today, Alckmin pointed out.

“This is everyday life. Every day you have these issues of tariff changes. The way forward is through dialog and we're going to go to the US government to find the best solution,” he noted.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said last week that Brazil could apply the law of reciprocity by increasing tariffs on US products consumed in Brazil. “The minimum decency that a government deserves is to use the law of reciprocity,” he said in a radio interview in Minas Gerais.

According to the US government's International Trade Administration, Brazil was the second largest supplier of steel to the country in 2024, second only to Canada. A survey by the Brazil Steel Institute, based on official data from the Brazilian government, showed that the US was the main destination for the country's steel, accounting for 49% of all steel exported in 2023. (Source: Agencia Brasil)