President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government on Thursday (23) rejected the new 12.5% tariff imposed by the United States following an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into alleged shortcomings in Brazil's efforts to combat forced labor. The measure affects more than 3,000 Brazilian products and takes effect at 1:01 a.m. Brasília time on Friday (24).In a statement, the government said that "in the absence of a domestic legal basis to support its protectionist trade policy, the USTR chose to exploit an issue central to human rights and the global struggle of workers in order to accuse 59 countries and the European Union of unfair practices." The administration again raised the possibility of invoking Brazil's Reciprocity Law and bringing the dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO), although the economic team has adopted a more cautious tone following calls from affected industries to prioritize negotiations.
The statement also notes that Brazil's Ministry of Labor submitted documentation to the USTR during the investigation and recalls that Brazil has ratified all four International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on forced labor, "whereas the United States, which claims the right to judge us and impose sanctions, has ratified only 10 of those conventions."
