BRASILIA - Brazil's government on Wednesday called the US decision to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25 percent an "unjustified and mistaken" move.

"These measures will significantly impact Brazilian steel and aluminum exports to the United States, which totaled around $3.2 billion in 2024," Brazil's Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said in a joint statement.

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Officials called the decision unjustified given the "historic cooperation and economic integration between the two nations," noting that Brazil is the third-largest importer of US steelmaking coal and the largest exporter of semifinished steel to the United States.

The United States maintains a long-standing trade surplus with Brazil, which in 2024 amounted to roughly $7 billion in goods alone, the government added.

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Officials said Brazil will explore all possible trade responses in the coming weeks, aiming "to counteract the harmful effects of the US measures and protect legitimate national interests."