Brazil’s government is moving on two fronts after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports that is due to take effect on Wednesday. Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin called the levies “totally unjustifiable” and said Brasília will request consultations at the World Trade Organization while remaining open to talks with Washington. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters the surcharge will affect roughly 4% of Brazil’s exports to the United States. Officials are also finalising a domestic relief package designed to shield companies from the higher duties. According to people familiar with the plan, the programme will offer cheaper working-capital loans through state development bank BNDES, extend debt maturities and subsidise payrolls in firms that lose U.S. sales. Haddad said the measures will stay within fiscal rules, though analysts warn they could complicate the government’s effort to erase its primary deficit this year. At the corporate level, Embraer SA pledged to invest US$1 billion in U.S. operations in an effort to soften the blow from the tariff threat. Separately, Brasília signalled it could discuss rare earths and other critical minerals in any negotiations, even as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted that Brazil’s sovereignty over those resources is non-negotiable.