Despite its new legal framework, Brazil is unlikely to impose significant retaliatory tariffs on the United States, and some Brazilian exporters may even benefit from U.S. protectionism, although Brasilia must remain alert to potential floods of cheaper foreign goods. Brazil's National Congress approved on April 2 a bill that provides a legal framework for the government to retaliate against foreign unilateral trade or environmental measures targeting its goods and services. Newly allowed countermeasures include tariffs and the suspension of existing intellectual property right protections. Brazil's Congress approved the bill unanimously -- an unusual occurrence -- with support both from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's leftist administration and right-wing legislators, including from the agribusiness caucus. The legislation was initially envisioned to facilitate retaliation against a proposed EU environmental law that Brazilian authorities considered a protectionist tool. The bill had lost momentum after the European Union postponed the adoption of its...
