Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has indicated that his government will not immediately impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States.

Instead, on Friday, he repeated his call for his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to join him in trade negotiations.

Currently, Brazil faces 50 percent taxes on all its exports to the US, the highest current tariff rate of any country except India.

While Brazil has yet to respond in kind, on Thursday, its Chamber of Foreign Commerce (CAMEX) began exploring whether countermeasures would apply under a local law.

“This is a process that takes a bit of time,” Lula said in Friday’s interview with Radio Itatiaia. “We have to tell the United States that we also have actions we can take against them. But I am in no rush. What I want is to negotiate.”

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