Brazil's Gerdau calls for more tariffs against Chinese steel imports

Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau is calling for more tariffs on steel imports from China, as the situation regarding trade barriers looks likely to tighten following the result of the US election.

“Our domestic steel market has been impacted by excessive imports of Chinese steel. The recent tariffs imposed by the Brazilian government were not sufficient to prevent the continued entry of Chinese products at unreasonable prices,” Gustavo Werneck, CEO of Gerdau, said during a press conference to present the company’s Q3 results.

Earlier this year, the Brazilian government imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports from China to protect steel mills from external competition.

According to Gerdau’s CEO, the existing tariff should be increased to at least 35% and applied to all steel products. The executive also warned that such a measure is urgent.

“With the results of the election in the US, more domestic barriers against Chinese products are expected there, and due to this, China is likely to bring even more imported products to Brazil,” he added.

The winner of the election, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump, has repeatedly advocated for trade tariffs against imported products, particularly from China.

Regarding the US election results, the Gerdau executive stressed that the company’s investment plans remain unchanged, with its spending focus firmly fixed on its operations in Brazil, the US, Mexico and Canada.

Gerdau has a capex program worth 9.2bn reais (US$1.5bn) through 2027. According to the company, a total of 4bn reais has already been disbursed.