Brazil will not retaliate against US steel tariffs immediately, minister says

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BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Wednesday that the South American country would not immediately retaliate against tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum imports, instead seeking negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favor of the U.S. and drawing swift retaliation from Canada and Europe.

Brazil is one of the largest sources of U.S. steel imports, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had previously suggested his government could file a complaint at the World Trade Organization or tax U.S. products as a reaction to the tariffs.

The leftist leader, however, has now ordered his economic team to seek dialogue with the Trump administration, Haddad told reporters after a meeting with members of the local steel industry in Brasilia.

“President Lula told us to remain calm, noting that in the past we have negotiated under conditions that were even more unfavorable than the current ones,” Haddad said.

Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin last week held what his office described as a “positive” call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariff policy. They agreed that dialogue between the two governments would continue.

Brazil’s presidential chief of staff, Rui Costa, said on Wednesday that Brazilian and U.S. government officials have a meeting scheduled for Friday to seek an understanding on tariffs.

Costa noted that the standard procedure in diplomacy would be “reciprocity,” but added that a final decision would only be made after Friday’s meeting.

(Reporting by Marcela Ayres and Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Aurora Ellis)