Raising import taxes seen as simpler alternative to quotas amid global trade tensions

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/35079508

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The Brazilian government believes it has sufficient room to increase import tariffs instead of resorting to more aggressive measures like quotas, should a wave of industrialized goods from China flood the local market. The risk of such a redirection to Brazil has grown in the wake of the global tariff escalation set off by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Since the beginning of the trade tensions, Brazil has been closely monitoring any potential uptick in the flow of Chinese-made goods to its domestic market, in an effort to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“It’s crucial that we base our actions on clear data: to determine whether there is indeed a flood of products or not,” said a Brazilian government official, who noted that so far, no significant increase has been observed.

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If Chinese products do end up being rerouted to Brazil in large volumes, authorities see an increase in import duties as a more straightforward tool to deploy. The government source emphasized that there is legal leeway under both World Trade Organization (WTO) and Mercosur rules to implement such measures.

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  • HotznplotznOPEnglish
    1·
    12 hours ago

    They was fine with american products flooding their market and now they complains about chinese products?

    This is not comparable as Chinese low-quality items are traded at a far higher volume. After the U.S. removed the de minimis-rule, for example, Air freight capacity between China and the U.S. dropped by almost a third.

    Europe is now also planning to charge a €2 flat fee on small parcels from outside bloc:

    In 2024, 4.6 billion such packages entered the EU - more than 145 per second - with 91% originating in China. The EU expects the numbers to rise.

    [The EU’s trade chief Maros] Sefcovic said the figure represents a “completely new challenge to the control, to the safety, to making sure that the standards are properly checked of the products which are shipped to the European Union”.