BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday said his government would provide 30 billion reais ($5.55 billion) in credit as part of a plan to support companies that export goods and are affected by steeper tariffs imposed from Washington.
In an interview with local news outlet BandNews, Lula said this was an initial amount to help the exporters, adding the package will also include support through government purchases.
The government is set to announce on Wednesday the highly anticipated plan at an event 11:30 a.m. (1430 GMT) in the capital Brasilia, according to the office of Lula’s chief of staff.
Reuters had reported last week, citing sources, that Brazil’s government was mulling shifting some 30 billion reais from a fund managed by state development bank BNDES to support local firms hit the tariffs.
The U.S. hiked the levies imposed on the imports of Brazilian goods to 50% from 10% earlier this month, although products including orange juice and aircraft were exempted from the increase.
($1 = 5.4020 reais) – Reuters