In an interview, Haddad criticizes USA, defends IR exemption and speaks of state losses

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad criticized the posture of the United States regarding negotiations on the tariff applied against Brazilian products. He again reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent canceled a previously scheduled meeting with the allegation of “lack of agenda” but then received Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP).

The speech was made in an interview with the program Free channelfrom the Bandwhich airs this Sunday (31), a few days after Brazil decides to trigger the law of economic reciprocity against the US. As the Broadcast (Real-time news system of the state group), the Brazilian government has already sent official communication about the likely retaliation to the US government.

• Read more: Haddad: tariff hurts a little, but Brazil is able to face

“I received an email from the US Treasury Secretary, marking time and day for the virtual meeting. After the cancellation, allegedly for lack of agenda, he received Eduardo Bolsonaro,” said Haddad. According to him, this type of gesture puts in question the royal arrangement of the White House in dialogue about the commercial crisis.

The triggering of the reciprocity law was a response to the US -opened process last month, which taxed Brazilian exports. The measure establishes a period of up to 210 days for effectiveness, creating parity of conditions between the two nations during consultations and information exchanges.

Interlocutors involved state that, despite the formal process, the Lula government’s priority remains direct negotiation with Donald Trump administration.

In another excerpt from the interview with Free channelHaddad returned to defend the project that exempts from income tax who earns up to $ 5,000. He pointed out that the proposal is “fiscal neutral” and intends to correct historical inequalities. “To benefit 15 million Brazilians, we will charge 141,000 millionaires who do not pay income tax,” he said.

Read more: Haddad: 20 million Brazilians should not be paying to go

Asked about the performance of state -owned companies, the minister recognized the postage of the post office as the most delicate case. “The post office has a structural problem that is the huge subsidy of what has been to him. Because those who compete with the post office have no obligation to deliver letter, he only does what he pays off,” he explained.