The Brazilian Steel Institute said yesterday that it plans to ask the Brazilian government to raise tariffs on Chinese steel imports.
Marco Polo Mello Lopes, the institute's executive vice president, told the press that his organization would approach the government regarding this issue sometime next year.
Mr. Lopes said that while
Brazil currently imports very little Chinese steel, he is afraid that tariff barriers that are being enforced in
Japan,
Mexico, and the US are likely to make
Brazil a target market for
China.
However, Mr. Lopes said, the Brazilian government may not be inclined to raise tariffs on Chinese steel because
China is currently buying large amounts of
iron ore from
Brazil, which is boosting
Brazil's trade balance.
Most of the steel that
Brazil imports from
China consists of semi-finished products that are not subject to import duties.