After the US imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from all countries in the world, Brazil and the US have held negotiations at both the ministerial and technical levels.

Brazil's goal is to reestablish a quota allowing a certain amount of steel to enter the US without paying the new tariffs. Before the new imposed tariffs, Brazil had a quota of 3.5 million tons of semi-finished products and steel plates, and 687,000 tons of rolled products, which could enter the US market freely.

According to Brazilian sources following the negotiations, Washington has hinted that restrictions on Brazilian imports of Chinese steel would facilitate negotiations to reopen steel quotas. The US side said that Brazil's increasing imports of Chinese steel are pushing domestic steel to ship to foreign markets such as the US, creating distortions in the international market.

However, the Brazilian side argues that there is no triangulation or re-exportation of Chinese steel to the US; furthermore, Brazil has already adopted anti-dumping measures against certain Chinese steel products.