SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil’s finance minister said on Monday his country would not give up negotiating with the U.S., but acknowledged that a trade deal may not be reached by August 1, when President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods are due to take effect.
“That could happen,” Fernando Haddad told radio station CBN in an interview, saying that Latin America’s largest economy was still awaiting a response from Washington on trade proposals it initially submitted in May.
Haddad said Brazil had contingency plans to deal with any potential tariffs, and could ultimately redirect more than half its current U.S. exports to other markets.
“But that would take time,” he cautioned.
The U.S. is a large buyer of Brazilian oil, steel products, coffee, aircraft, and orange juice.
(Reporting by Bernardo Caram and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Bernadette Baum)
