In a joint statement, Brazil’s ministries of foreign relations (MRE) and industry, trade and services (MDIC) criticized new measures adopted this week by the European Union (EU) to limit steel imports from Mercosur countries.
The statement says the changes will limit access to the European market and fail to address excess capacity in the global steel industry.
According to the statement, the EU has adopted new quantitative restrictions on the import of steel products and raised tariffs on imports that exceed the established quotas.
From Brazil’s perspective, the measures affect most of the bloc’s trading partners and increase barriers to exports, even after the end of the safeguard system established in 2018.
Brazil also stated it is affected by global steel overproduction and will continue to advocate for multilateral solutions to the problem in international forums. The statement adds that “restricting trade with countries that are not responsible for the global oversupply does not resolve the issue and may trigger an escalation of trade defense measures”.
The EU has granted Brazil an annual quota of 227,000 metric tons of finished steel products, while slabs and billets will remain exempt from import tax.
