Brasilia. – The Minister of Finance of Brazil, Fernando Haddad confirmed the possibility of including critical minerals and rare earths in tariff negotiations with USA. This with the aim of reaching an agreement between the two countries and thus avoiding the rate of 50% announced by the US president, Donald Trump, to Brazilian imports.
“We have critical minerals and rare earths. The United States is not rich in these minerals. We can establish cooperation agreements to produce more efficient batteries “, Haddad pointed out this Tuesday, August 5 in an interview with the local radio Bandnews.
The official also referred to other strategic sectors in Brazil and the US could collaborate: renewable energies or technology. He expressed his confidence in reaching an agreement with the United States, since there are “many mutual benefit opportunities that are blocked without any reason.”
A week ago, Trump announced the implementation of an additional 40% tariff on Brazilian imports, thus raising the rate up to 50%, to “face recent policies” that the Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva government is carrying out, especially the processing “for political reasons” of the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
Reorient production
On the immediate impact of tariffs, Haddad said that the United States represented 25% of the Brazilian exportsbut that this figure has been reduced up to 12%. The Brazilian government developed a contingency plan with credit measures and emergency support that will be adapted to the specific situation of each sector.
On the other hand, the Minister of Finance acknowledged that some companies must invest in new teams and reorient their production. In those cases, he said, “the solution could be a subsidized credit line.”
