Brazil Rejects New US Tariffs and Will Take Action at WTO

Rio de Janeiro (ANTARA) - Brazil on Thursday rejected the United States’ decision to impose a 12.5 per cent tariff on Brazilian products, following a Section 301 trade investigation into 60 trading partners. Brazil will pursue dispute settlement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Calling the Section 301 trade investigation “arbitrary and baseless,” the Brazilian government assessed that the US had used the issue of forced labour as a pretext to implement protectionist trade policies, and “chose to manipulate an issue of great importance to human rights and the struggle of workers worldwide,” despite Brazil having submitted various documents and explanations regarding its legislation and law enforcement mechanisms during the investigation. Brazil said it would immediately begin procedures to activate response mechanisms under its “Reciprocity Law,” while simultaneously bringing the matter to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. The US import tariffs, imposed on dozens of markets over allegations of weak enforcement of forced labour bans, are scheduled to take effect on Friday.