The Brazilian government on Wednesday said that Brazil will assess in the next few weeks all possible measures in reaction, including at the World Trade Organization, to "counteract the harmful effects of the U.S. measures and protect legitimate national interests."
U.S. President Donald Trump's increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to "reorder global trade in favor of the U.S."
"These measures will significantly impact Brazilian steel and aluminum exports to the United States, which totaled around $3.2 billion in 2024," Brazil's Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said in a joint statement.
The government called the U.S. decision to increase tariffs an "unjustified and mistaken" move, given the "historic cooperation and economic integration between the two nations."
Brazil is the third-largest importer of U.S. steelmaking coal and the largest exporter of semi-finished steel to the U.S.
The U.S. maintains a long-standing trade surplus with Brazil, which in 2024 amounted to roughly $7 billion in goods alone, the government added.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered his economic team to seek dialogue with the Trump administration, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters earlier on Wednesday after a meeting with members of the local steel industry in Brasilia.
"President Lula told us to remain calm, noting that in the past we have negotiated under conditions that were even more unfavorable than the current ones," Haddad said.
(With input from agencies)