SAO PAULO, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Brazil and the US will establish a working group to discuss issues related to a potential agreement on trade, the Brazilian government said in a statement on Wednesday, after a meeting between officials from both countries.
According to the statement, the US will submit a proposal in the coming weeks setting out the scope of negotiations, including tariff and nontariff issues.
• Both sides aim to move swiftly toward a mutually acceptable understanding, it added.
• Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, and trade minister Marcio Elias Rosa met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting.
• The meeting builds on bilateral engagement following a phone call in August between US President Donald Trump and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
• Washington announced in July tariffs of 25% on some Brazilian goods, alleging unfair trade practices, as well as 12.5% tariffs linked to allegations of lax enforcement of forced labor bans.
• Brazil does not intend to use its so-called reciprocity law over tariffs against the US while trade talks continue, Lula told CNN International earlier this month.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
