Brazil and US are negotiating terms of understanding on tariffs, says Brazilian Finance Minister

SAO PAULO: Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Brazil and the U.S. are negotiating the terms of an understanding on tariffs. Haddad said on Sunday that he spoke to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “on behalf of the region,” since according to him, it doesn’t make sense to impose tariffs on South America due to the trade deficits the countries have with the United States.

“The most important thing at this moment is to say that we are at a table negotiating the terms of an understanding,” Haddad told journalists in Los Angeles, where he traveled to discuss investments in data centers.

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“I believe that the Secretary’s attitude was very fruitful and demonstrated a very important openness to dialog,” he added.

Bessent has been meeting with leaders of various countries since U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. Brazil came under the 10% tariff on most U.S. imports.