BRASILIA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's latest 25 percent tariff on Brazil's exports is concerning for Brazilian industry and amplifies uncertainty among companies in both countries, the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) said Thursday.
Responding to the U.S. tariff announcement made earlier in the day, the industry group issued a release saying the added duty exacerbates a situation that was already putting pressure on Brazilian exports.
"The impacts of the U.S. tariff increases are being felt more and more by Brazilian industry: 20 of the 27 states saw a decline in exports to the U.S. market in the first half of the year," CNI President Ricardo Alban said.
"In light of today's announcement, the situation is likely to worsen, further eroding the competitiveness of Brazilian industry. We must spare no effort to reverse this trend and restore the relationship that Brazil and the United States have built," he added.
Bilateral trade is already feeling the effects of U.S. tariffs imposed since 2025, as Brazil's exports to the U.S. market fell by 13 percent, equivalent to 2.6 billion U.S. dollars.
This decline was driven by an 8.7 percent drop in sales of industrial goods, particularly semi-manufactured iron and steel products, crude cast iron, chemical wood pulp made from non-coniferous materials, petroleum oils and semi-manufactured products made from other steel alloys.
The new 25-percent tariff is set to take effect next week, while products such as certain types of meat, coffee, fruit, iron and aircraft parts are included in a list of more than 2,000 items exempted due to their importance to the U.S. market.
Brazil said it will take its case to the World Trade Organization and invoke its domestic "Reciprocity Law" to slap equivalent, penalizing tariffs on incoming US products.
