Brazil still open to tariff negotiations ahead of expected US announcement

PARIS (Reuters) - Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday that his country would maintain its openness to negotiate with the United States ahead of a long-awaited announcement by President Donald Trump on reciprocal import tariffs.

Haddad, speaking to reporters in Paris after a meeting with his French counterpart Eric Lombard, reiterated that Latin America's largest economy remains in the dark about the specifics of what could be announced for Brazil on Wednesday.

"We have a partnership with the United States, and we will continue to approach negotiations with openness, aiming for mutual prosperity in our bilateral relations," he said.

Haddad also emphasized that it would be surprising if Brazil were to face any "unjustified retaliation," considering the country has consistently engaged in negotiations with the United States to strengthen cooperation.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a report on Monday that Brazil imposes relatively high tariffs on imports across a wide range of sectors, including automobiles, automotive parts, information technology, electronics, chemicals, plastics, industrial machinery, steel, and textiles and apparel.

The USTR noted that U.S. exporters face "significant" uncertainty in the Brazilian market due to frequent changes in tariff rates, which are influenced by the flexibilities of South American trade bloc Mercosur.

"The lack of predictability with regard to tariff rates makes it difficult for U.S. exporters to forecast the costs of doing business in Brazil," the report said.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Writing by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Mark Porter)