Brazil Takes Quota on Steel But Tariff on Aluminum

Brazil says it will agree to quotas on finished and semi-finished steel exports to the U.S. in return for exemption from the 25 percent Section 232 tariffs, according to Inside U.S. Trade. Brazil is the latest country to capitulate to U.S. demands, agreeing to a quota of 70 percent of its three-year average exports of finished steel and 100 percent of exports of semi-finished steel.

“Faced with the decision announced by the U.S., the representatives of the aluminum sector indicated that the less harmful alternative to their interests was to endure the additional tariffs of 10% that were originally foreseen,” the Brazilian Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Foreign Relations Ministry said in a May 1 press release. “On the other hand, the representatives of the steel sector informed that the imposition of quotas would be less restrictive than the 25% tariff.”