Brazil decries US 'ultimatum' over steel, aluminum tariffs
Brazil says the United States has forced it to accept quotas of tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the country despite a preliminary deal on a permanent exemption.
The South American powerhouse is one of the several countries threatened with tariffs of up to 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports to the US.
On May 1, the White House said it had reached a deal for permanent exemptions on steel and aluminum for Brazil, Argentina and Australia. However, Brazil later said the US government had unilaterally called off talks on April 26 after forcing it to pick between tariffs or quotas.
Brazilian officials said the move was an ultimatum and dismissed the agreement as one-sided.
"US authorities announced the decision to interrupt the negotiating process and to apply immediately to Brazil the additional tariffs that were temporarily suspended or, alternatively and without any possibility of further negotiation, unilateral restrictive quotas," the ministry of industry said in a statement.
A spokesman for the ministry said Thursday the Brazilian government understands that negotiations ended, but still expects the United States to exempt it from trade restrictions.
The government stressed that it remains willing to adopt all actions needed to preserve its rights.
The government says the aluminum sector has now decided to accept the 10 percent tariffs, while the steel sector is opting for quotas, which are seen as less damaging than the 25 percent tariff.
Brazil is the second biggest steel exporter to the United States after Canada. The US commerce department says Brazilian steel accounts for nearly 14 percent of US steel imports by volume.
The European Union and US NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico have been exempted from Trump's tariffs for now.
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