Brazilian unions present plan to counter US tariff measures

Brazilian trade union federations—including CUT, Força Sindical, UGT, CTB, CSB and NCST—handed a joint document to Development Minister Márcio Elias Rosa on 31 May in São Paulo. The proposal urges the government to protect jobs, boost public investment, strengthen the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) and promote local‑content policies to mitigate the impact of new US protectionist tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

The unions call the tariffs a "tarifaço" that threatens Brazil’s economy, employment and productive sovereignty. They recommend measures such as requiring firms to maintain employment levels to access government aid, expanding public spending on infrastructure, revising patent law, creating compensation funds for affected workers, deepening Mercosur integration and enhancing collective bargaining structures.