Washington (EFE).- The United States President Donald Trump withdrew the tariffs on certain Brazilian products on Thursday, including beef, vegetables, coffee, and cocoa, after negotiating with his Brazilian counterpart, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
As part of his trade war, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Brazilian exports. He later applied an additional 40%, raising the total tariff to 50%.
The aforementioned was in retaliation for the trial of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump’s who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after Lula’s electoral victory.
The new executive order, signed by Trump on Tuesday, removes tariffs on certain goods imported from or withdrawn from Brazilian warehouses since Nov. 13.
The exemptions are listed in two documents that include meat, bovine products, spices, fruits, grains (such as coffee and cocoa), and many other agricultural goods. They also include fossil fuels, coal-related products and chemicals, liquefied gases, and wood pulp, as well as countless components for civil aviation.
Trump and Lula began negotiating after accidentally crossing paths in the hallways of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
According to the leaders, a moment of «chemistry» emerged between them at that time.
The two leaders later spoke on the phone and met in person on Oct. 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They described the meeting as positive.
Since then, teams from both governments have discussed revising the tariffs imposed on Brazil. According to official data, Brazil has had a trade deficit with the US for the last 15 years.
Last week, the Brazilian government described Trump’s plan to remove tariffs on certain Brazilian agricultural products as «positive.» However, they expressed confidence in continuing to negotiate further reductions. EFE
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