Brazilian steel companies' shares fall after government renews tariff system
SAO PAULO, May 28 (Reuters) - Stocks of Brazilian steel companies fell on Wednesday after the government said it would renew for 12 months a system meant to protect the national steel industry, but that steelmakers have said is ineffective.
The steel industry began criticizing the quota system almost as soon as it was set up last year, saying it failed to control the flow of imports, mainly from China.
Under the system, as long as the import quota is not reached, steel products can enter the country if they pay import tax of between 9% and 16%. If the cap is exceeded, a 25% tariff applies, Brazilian government news outlet Agencia Brasil said.
On the first day of trading following the announcement, CSN (CSNA3.SA), opens new tab was down 4.4%, Usiminas (USIM5.SA), opens new tab dropped 3.6% and Gerdau fell (GGBR4.SA), opens new tab 1.2%. Brazil's benchmark stock index Bovespa fell only 0.5%.
The system, which has been expanded to now include 23 steel products, was already criticized by the sector for being too broad.
Tuesday's government announcement retained the exclusion - also criticized by the industry - from the quota and tariff system of imports from countries that have trade agreements or negotiated special conditions with Brazil.
The steel sector has urged the government to renew the scheme with the inclusion of all steel products in the 25% tariff, as the European Union and the United States have done.
Steel imports rose 27.5% year-on-year in the first four months of 2025, reaching 2.2 million metric tons, according to data from the country's steel mills association, Aco Brasil, which did not comment on the matter on Wednesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil sells $2.75 billion in second dollar bond deal of 2025 as CDS hits year low
BRASILIA, June 4 (Reuters) - Brazil sold $2.75 billion in dollar-denominated sovereign bonds on Wednesday, the treasury said, marking its second international issuance this year as the country capitalizes on declining default risk. The government sold $1.5 billion through a new five-year bond maturing in 2030, with a yield of 5.68%, and an additional $1.25 billion through a reopening of its 10-year benchmark Global 2035 bond, with a 6.73% yield. The deal comes amid a recent decline in Brazil's five-year credit default swap (CDS) , a key gauge of sovereign risk used by investors to hedge against default. After rising earlier this year, Brazil's CDS has retreated to its lowest level of 2025, down 27.6% year-to-date as of Tuesday. Brazil's dollar bond sale follows the $2.5 billion 10-year sovereign bond placed in February, which was the issuance reopened on Wednesday. The treasury said in a statement that the demand for the new issuance surpassed the issued volume by about four times. Reuters had reported earlier in the day, citing a source, that Brazil was poised to sell $2.75 billion with the bond sale. Emerging markets have broadly benefited from a global rotation of capital driven in part by trade policy shifts, including steep tariff hikes introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump - a trend that has contributed to the weakening of the U.S. dollar globally. On the domestic front, investors are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of structural fiscal measures the government signaled are being negotiated with Congress, after a controversial hike in taxes on some financial transactions aimed at boosting public revenues was poorly received. The new external issuance aims to boost liquidity in Brazil's sovereign dollar yield curve, provide pricing references for corporate issuers and raise funds to pre-finance upcoming external debt maturities, the treasury said. BNP Paribas, Citigroup and Santander led the transaction.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil power firm Brasol, backed by Siemens and BlackRock, to double investments this year
SAO PAULO, June 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian energy firm Brasol, which has Siemens ( opens new tab and BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab as its main shareholders, expects to more than double investments this year as it aims to expand core businesses and diversify its portfolio, its chief executive said. Brasol, which operates small-sized solar power assets, expects to invest up to 2 billion reais ($354.6 million) this year, CEO Ty Eldridge told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday, up from about 900 million reais in 2024. "We believe that we can keep doubling (investments on an annual basis) for a few more years," he said, noting that Brasol wants to further grow its solar power business while also expanding in customer services, batteries and power lines. Eldridge said the move could include building private lines and substations to serve customers such as industrial plants, noting that he sees a "bottleneck" in the sector in Latin America's largest economy. ($1 = 5.6405 reais)
Reuters
16 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's Pix set for next leap with launch of recurring payments
June 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's wildly popular instant payment system Pix is poised for another leap with the launch of a new recurring payments feature this month, central bank officials said on Wednesday. Since its launch in late 2020, Pix has rapidly become the leading payment method in Latin America's largest economy, surpassing cash as well as debit and credit cards. Last year it handled more than 26 trillion reais ($4.61 trillion) in transactions. Initially slated for launch last October, the new feature will go live on June 16, allowing users to authorize recurring charges with a single consent, according to the central bank, which developed and operates Pix. That will allow for automatic payments of utilities, phone bills, school tuition, gym memberships, and digital or streaming services via the new "Pix Automatico" tool. "'Boleto' will be overtaken by Pix Automatico when it comes to automatic payments," said Renato Gomes, the central bank's financial system organization director. Boleto is the traditional slip method, which moved 6.2 trillion reais last year, according to banking federation Febraban. Speaking at a central bank event in Sao Paulo to present the feature, Gomes added that existing automatic debit services via banks are also likely to be disrupted by the new tool. Companies must sign bank agreements to offer automatic debit, a process central bank regulation director Gilneu Vivan described as burdensome for small businesses. Pix Automatico will simplify the process, allowing small merchants to receive recurring payments with ease. Vivan also noted that nearly 60 million Brazilians do not own a credit card, a group that will now be able to access subscription-based services previously limited to cardholders. A study by payments platform EBANX estimates that Pix Automatico could handle at least $30 billion in e-commerce transactions within its first two years of operation. ($1 = 5.6418 reais)
