By Bernardo Caram
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Thursday that he had reiterated his country’s willingness to negotiate proposed U.S. tariffs on imports from Latin America’s No. 1 economy during a conversation on Saturday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Alckmin said he and Lutnick had a “good” conversation last week that lasted about an hour.
The U.S. has announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports starting August 1, a measure U.S. President Donald Trump has tied to judicial measures against former president and ideological ally Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of plotting a coup.
Brazilian officials have been holding discussions with local companies to evaluate the potential impacts of the tariffs, while also preparing measures to mitigate those effects and studying potential countermeasures.
But Brazilian authorities have said they have been struggling to contact high officials of the U.S. government for direct negotiation.
“The conversation (with Lutnick) was fruitful,” Alckmin said, noting the specifics of the discussions should be kept confidential.
“We didn’t create this problem, but we want to resolve it,” the Brazilian VP added.
The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Bernardo Caram in Brasilia; Writing by Andre Romani, Steve Holland contributed reporting from Washington; Editing by Sarah Morland and David Gregorio)
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