The Brazilian Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee approved a bill Tuesday that allows the government to retaliate against foreign trade measures that harm the country’s exports ahead of a new set of tariffs promised by US President Donald Trump.
With Trump’s reciprocal tariffs set to take effect Wednesday against all countries that impose tariffs on imports from the US, Brazil is preparing a legal framework to counter any trade measures that threaten Brazilian goods.
The bill was fast-tracked by the Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee and now heads to the Chamber of Deputies, where government leaders intend to speed its passage into law.
It aims to protect the economy from countries or economic blocs that damage Brazil’s competitiveness on the international level.
The bill empowers the president to raise taxes on countries that have implemented one-sided trade policies or laws that affect Brazil. It also suspends intellectual property concessions, halting the payment of royalties for patents from the affected countries.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Renan Calheiros, the chair of the Economic Affairs Committee, said the measure is designed to protect Brazilian goods from potential US tariffs.
“The project is without a doubt a legitimate response to the US tariff increase. We are simply complementing Brazilian legislation with reciprocity mechanisms. We are not adopting reciprocity. But if the government wants to adopt it, it will not be due to a lack of legislation that prevents it,” he said.
The bill goes beyond the Trump administration, however, as it was initially conceived as a countermeasure to protect Brazilian exports from the European Union, which had announced trade restrictions against countries that did not comply with its environmental policies.
“This law is not limited to the United States but covers all markets that trade with Brazil. It is not a retaliation, but a protection against retaliations against Brazilian products,” said Senator Tereza Cristina.