Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has said that fresh tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump are more favourable than expected, with several important export products exempted from levies.
Before imposing tariffs trump administration made several changes in the tariff rates slapped on over 70 countries on Friday. Haddad said, “There are a lot of unjustified rates and corrections that need to be made,” he told reporters while responding to a query on the recent tariff announcement.
Trump’s far-right ally, Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, is facing multiple charges of corruption and plotting a coup against Lula’s government. Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order adding a 40 per cent tariff on Brazilian products, bringing total trade duties to 50 per cent.
Leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has condemned the tariffs as an attack on the sovereignty of South America’s largest economy. “The negotiations have not ended; rather, they start today,” said Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
US tariff imposition will have a range of adverse effects on the Brazilian economy shortly. “While the exemption in certain goods is likely going to provide some relief to Brazil, they have been taken to protect American interests,” he said.
Meanwhile, Haddad has promised to protect the companies that will be facing the brunt of the US tariffs but noted that nothing was decided in yesterday’s meeting; therefore, something could be reviewed.Trump's order was based on the Brazilian government's "politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters," according to the White House.
Also Read: Trump slaps tariffs on dozens of countries, hikes Canada's to 35%
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