Brazil has taken twin legal and trade steps to counter the 50% tariffs the United States imposed on its exports this month. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva authorised the use of the country’s new Economic Reciprocity Law, instructing the Foreign Ministry to notify Washington and to ask the foreign-trade council Camex to assess possible counter-measures. Camex has 30 days to decide whether to recommend actions that could include reciprocal tariffs, suspension of concessions or other restrictions on U.S. goods and services. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Brasília will also challenge the duties in U.S. courts rather than rely on lobbying. To prepare the case, the government hired Washington-based law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP under a contract worth up to US$3.5 million over four years. The latest moves add to consultations Brazil launched at the World Trade Organization earlier in August and mark the most forceful response yet by Latin America’s largest economy to President Donald Trump’s trade measures. Brazilian officials say talks with Washington remain possible but warn they are prepared to escalate if the tariffs stay in place.