SAO PAULO, March 13 (Reuters) – Brazilian steelmaker CSN (CSNA3.SA) sees room for Brazil to negotiate a quota mechanism with the United States in the coming months, an executive said on Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Brazil, one of the largest sources of U.S. steel imports, has decided to seek dialogue with the Trump administration and not immediately retaliate against what it called “unjustifiable” tariffs.
Trump’s 25% duties on all steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday, stepping up a campaign to reorder global trade in favor of the U.S. and drawing swift retaliation from Canada and Europe. “From what we’ve been hearing, I believe that in the next two months it is possible for a negotiation like the one we had in 2018 to be opened. Perhaps a quota system,” CSN’s commercial head Luis Fernando Martinez told analysts on an earnings call.
Trump, who took office in January for his second term, first targeted steel and aluminum for tariffs in 2018, but later granted several countries exemptions and struck duty-free quota deals for Brazil based on pre-tariff volumes.
The South American country had previously suggested quotas as a “smart mechanism.” Martinez noted the U.S. remains a net importer of several steel products, including plates and sheets.
Via Reuters