Brazil and the United States will resume technical negotiations on Monday, August 31, over the tariffs Washington imposed on Brazilian products, according to Brazilian outlet CartaCapital. Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, Márcio Elias Rosa, and the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, will hold a virtual meeting at 2:30 p.m. Brasília time. The minister confirmed the meeting, which marks the first step in a new round of talks between the two governments.
The meeting was arranged after an exchange of messages between Rosa and Greer, which followed a phone call between Brazilian President Lula and US President Donald Trump on Friday, August 21. The two leaders spoke for about an hour and twenty minutes, focusing mainly on tariffs. According to the Brazilian government, Lula pushed for a resumption of negotiations and argued the measures hurt both countries' economies. Trump, for his part, agreed on the need to preserve trade relations and said technical teams should resume talks.
Brazil's first goal in the renewed talks will be to expand the list of Brazilian products exempt from the additional tariffs. Only in a second phase does the government intend to discuss reversing the measures themselves. The two delegations had already met before but failed to reach an understanding. Since the tariffs were announced, the Brazilian government says there have been more than 30 contacts with US officials at various levels.
How the tariffs work
The United States imposed two rounds of additional tariffs on Brazilian goods this year. One added 25% on part of Brazil's exports, following a US trade investigation that found Brazilian practices it deemed harmful to bilateral commerce, including issues related to Pix, Brazil's instant payment system, and the regulation of digital platforms. A second tariff of 12.5% was announced later. Combined, the two levies pushed the additional tariff on some products to 37.5% to enter the US market.
Not every product is affected, though. Oil, coffee and beef are among the items excluded from the additional tariffs, while footwear, machinery, timber and sugar remain subject to the maximum rate. Brazil's current strategy is to widen that list of exceptions and reduce the impact on its exports before pursuing a broader rollback of the tariffs.