Brazil plans new minerals policy as US tariffs kick in

Brazil is planning a new policy that will consider critical minerals as a matter of “national sovereignty” as US tariffs have been enforced on several countries worldwide.

On Thursday, the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” took effect, ranging from 41% to 10% for countries with which the US has not signed trade deals. India is currently subject to a 25% tariff, but has been threatened with an increase to 50% for buying Russian oil, Kallanish learns.

Brazil has been slapped with a 50% tariff, although around 4,000 products are exempted, as US President Donald Trump demands that investigations into former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro be dropped. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the current president of Brazil, says his government will not retaliate with its own tariffs and is open to negotiations, although he reckons Trump is not ready yet.

“The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won’t hesitate to call him,” Lula told Reuters. “But today my intuition says he doesn’t want to talk. And I won’t humiliate myself.”

He said Brasilia is looking to establish a new policy to ensure that the benefits of critical minerals are reaped locally, as well as develop a comprehensive map of its resources.

“We won’t allow what happened in the last century to happen again, where Brazil exports raw minerals and then buys products with very high added value,” Lula added. “We want to add value in Brazil.”

The country produces copper and nickel and is developing a rare earth sector. In a bid to decouple from Chinese supply chains, the US has been trying to secure other sources of rare earths, both at home and abroad, including from Brazil as part of trade negotiations.

Source:Kallanish