RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 14 — The Brazilian government on Wednesday presented an aid package worth billions of dollars for companies affected by US tariffs, reported German press agency (dpa).
“Brazil and the world are witnesses that this situation, which we consider to be true blackmail, was provoked by those who tried to abolish the democratic rule of law and now answer for their crimes before the law and justice,” said Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann.
The core of the package is a credit line of 30 billion reais (US$5.5 billion), the granting of which is linked to the preservation of jobs. Additionally, export credits will be granted and tax payments for particularly affected companies will be postponed.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the measure into provisional law, which must be approved by Congress within 120 days to remain in force.
Lula stressed during the package’s announcement in Brasilia that his government was “not announcing reciprocity measures”.
“We don’t want, in first instance, to do anything that could worsen our relations,” he said, adding that his government was instead focussing on greater diversification of export markets and was negotiating alternative sales opportunities with partners such as India, China and Russia.
US President Donald Trump last week imposed 50 per cent import duties on a wide range of Brazilian products including meat and coffee, though key exports such as orange juice, civilian aircraft, oil and fertilisers are exempt.
The US administration has said the tariffs were in part triggered by the prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Washington argues that Brazil’s actions threaten US national security, foreign policy and economic interests.
Some view the move as an attempt by the US to exert political pressure in favour of the right-wing former president.
Bolsonaro has been charged with trying to “destroy the democratic legal order” by plotting to overthrow the Lula government following his election defeat in 2022. He is currently under house arrest while his high-profile trial is in its final stages. He denies all accusations.
