Brazil does not rule out appealing to WTO against US tariffs
Brazil is not ruling out the possibility of appealing to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the 10 percent surcharge imposed by the Trump administration on Brazilian products exported to the United States.
In a joint statement on Wednesday (Apr. 2), the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Development, Industry, Trade, and Services acknowledged that the Brazilian government’s current priority is to negotiate a reversal of the measures announced by US President Donald Trump.
“The Brazilian government remains open to deepening dialogue established over recent weeks with the US government to reverse the announced measures and mitigate their harmful effects as soon as possible. At the same time, it is evaluating all possible actions to ensure reciprocity in bilateral trade, including appealing to the World Trade Organization to defend legitimate national interests,” the two ministries stated in the joint release.
The statement emphasized that Trump’s measures violate WTO rules and underscored the urgent need for Congress to approve the bill allowing Brazil to retaliate against countries or blocs that impose trade barriers on Brazilian products—the so-called Reciprocity Law.
According to the statement, the 10 percent surcharge on Brazilian products will affect all exports to the United States, Brazil’s second-largest trading partner. The government plans to collaborate with companies in the impacted sectors to defend the country’s trade interests.
“To protect Brazilian workers and companies from the impact of these measures on exports—and in line with its longstanding support for the multilateral trade system—the government will consult with the private sector to defend national producers’ interests before the US government,” the statement said.
Statistics
The two ministries cited US trade data, noting that the trade balance favors the United States, as Brazil imports more from the country than it exports.
“According to US government data, the country recorded a $7 billion trade surplus with Brazil in goods alone in 2024. When including goods and services, the surplus reached $28.6 billion, making it the third-largest trade surplus globally,” the statement read.
Over the past 15 years, the US trade surplus with Brazil has surpassed $400 billion. Given this, the Brazilian government argues that Trump’s unilateral measure does not reflect the actual trade balance.
“Since the US has recorded recurring and significant trade surpluses in goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years, totaling $410 billion, the unilateral imposition of an additional 10 percent linear tariff on Brazil, with the claim of the need to restore balance and ‘trade reciprocity’ does not reflect reality,” the joint statement added.
