Brazil is scrambling to avert punishing 50% U.S. tariffs in a week's time, but high level talks are stalled and U.S. companies are reluctant to confront U.S. President Donald Trump over the issue, officials and industry leaders say, Reuters reported. Trump linked the tariffs, which he has said would come into effect on Aug. 1, to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office.

Brazil’s attorney general is seeking a probe into possible insider trading in the country’s currency markets around the announcement of US tariffs on Brazilian goods, Bloomberg News reported. The request follows local media reports of significant foreign exchange transactions before and after the official tariffs announcement, “suggesting possible use of privileged information (insider trading) by individuals or legal entities,” according to a statement from the Brazilian attorney general’s office.

Brazilian petrochemical group Unigel is considering filing for judicial recovery (bankruptcy protection) to facilitate a new round of capitalization, ValorInternational.com has learned. The company has already signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with potential investors, who have until October to review its financial data and business turnaround plans. According to sources close to the informal talks, one interested group has made its investment conditional on a bankruptcy filing, a condition Unigel has not resisted.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he would impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump follows through on a pledge to boost import taxes by 50% over the South American country's criminal trial against his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, the Associated Press reported. Lula said he would trigger Brazil's reciprocity law approved by Congress earlier this year if negotiations with the U.S. fail. "If there's no negotiation, the reciprocity law will be put to work.

Brazil's central bank said on Tuesday that much of the impact from its "particularly quick and very firm" tightening cycle is yet to be felt, which is why it now foresees a pause in interest rate increases to assess those effects, Reuters reported. In the minutes of last week's decision, when the monetary policy committee Copom raised rates by 25 basis points to 15% and signaled a "very prolonged" pause ahead, the central bank also stressed that it will still assess whether the current rate is appropriate to bring inflation back to target.

Brazilian airline Gol formally exited its bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. on Friday, setting the stage for fleet expansion and new flights and routes within Brazil and other countries, Chief Executive Officer Celso Ferrer said, Reuters reported. In 2024, Gol became the second Brazilian airline, after Latam in 2020, to seek chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as the sector grappled with debt burdens, a steep decline in passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and aircraft delivery delays. Azul, a Gol competitor, filed for chapter 11 last month.

Brazil's government is expected to back a bill proposing a 10% cut to federal tax breaks, two sources told Reuters on Thursday, in a move that could allow it to scrap a controversial increase in the tax on financial transactions (IOF) proposed last month. The bill, which was proposed by lower house lawmaker Mauro Benevides, sets a 5% reduction in the value of tax benefits in 2025 and a further 5% cut in 2026, the proposal showed. The legislation also applies to fiscal and credit benefits.

Azul said it received interim court approvals related to the company’s chapter 11 petitions filed in the U.S., WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The court granted approval for the Brazilian airline operator to access $250 million of its $1.6 billion debtor-in-possession financing after a first-day hearing.