Commercial Reciprocity Law comes into force in Brazil

The Economic Reciprocity Law was published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday (14), after being sanctioned by President Lula. The law is a strategic action by Brazil to preserve national interests in the face of tariff measures imposed by the United States on several nations.

In the case of Brazil, the tariff was 10% on all products exported to the North American market. The exception was steel and aluminum, which were subject to a 25% tariff. According to the government, this significantly affects Brazilian companies. Brazil is the third largest exporter of these metals to the United States.

With the Reciprocity Law, the Executive Branch, together with the private sector, can adopt countermeasures to restrict the import of goods and services. Or even adopt actions to suspend commercial concessions, investments and obligations related to intellectual property rights. This is provided that the initiatives are proportional to the economic impact of political, commercial, financial or investment actions that are harmful to Brazil.

The objective of the new law, according to the government, is to minimize the negative effects of tariffs imposed by the United States on Brazilian economic activity, in addition to reaffirming Brazilian sovereignty in commercial and environmental decisions in international relations.

The law can be read at the link below.