The association of Brazilian pig iron producers in the state of Minas Gerais, Sindifer, confirmed the hiring of a law firm to help them with the hearings with the US Trade Representative (USTR), to avoid the imposition of an additional 25 percent import tariff on the Brazilian product.
In early June, Brazilian pig iron was omitted from a list of exempted raw materials subject to 25 percent import tariffs under previous Section 301 rules, effectively disrupting long established trades flows between the US and Brazil, media reports indicate.
Combined with the ongoing 10 percent Brazilian import tariff, the final duty could reach 37.5 percent, so says Sindifer President Fausto Varela, at level that would would force more than half of the state’s pig iron producers to suspend operations, either temporarily or permanently.
According to Varela, the state of Minas Gerais will be highly impacted by the high import tariff, as it hosts 48 independent producers and 63 blast furnaces, responsible for 70 percent of the Brazilian pig iron production and having more than 80 percent of its exports destined for US steel producers.
At the same time, Sindifer is seeking financial relief from tax authorities and asking the Foreign Ministry to negotiate a delay in the new tariffs, if they are ultimately imposed later in July.
In 2025, the US imported 3.365 million mt of pig iron from Brazil, equivalent to 83 percent of the nation’s total exports of the product.
Brazilian pig iron is indispensable to the US steel making industry, not only due to its competitive price versus traditional scrap used in modern electric arc blast furnaces in modern steel making operations, but also because the country’s independent producers use charcoal as reductant element (reducing agent) in their blast furnaces, resulting in a “close to zero” net CO2 emissions.
When charcoal comes from planted forests, the CO2 emissions generated in blast furnaces are offset by the CO2 absorbed by the next generation of trees.