Decree no. 12.551 was published on July 15th, 2025, regulating the Reciprocity Law (Law no. 15.122/2025), that defines the criteria and instruments to respond to unilateral measures by countries and/or economic blocs that have negative affect on the Brazilian international competitiveness.

The Decree creates the Negotiation and Economic and Commercial Countermeasures Interministerial Committee, that will be responsible for:

  • Apply temporary countermeasures, on urgent circumstances; and
  • Monitor the diplomatic negotiations aiming that the impact to Brazil, caused by the unilateral measure applied by the commercial partner, ends.

The Committee’s President will be the Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, the Brazil’s Vice-President Geraldo Alckimin. The Ministers of Casa Civil (Office of the Chief of Staff – Rui Costa), Finance (Fernando Haddad) and Foreign Affairs (Ambassador Mauro Vieira) will have a permanent spot on the Committee. Other Ministers can be invited depending on the themes and measures analyzed.

Any member of the Interministerial Committee or Management Committee (GECEX in Portuguese) of the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex, in Portuguese) can request the application of a countermeasure to the mentioned unilateral measure.

After the request, a specific work group will be created. GECEX will analyze the application of a countermeasure, if suggested by the work group. Then, if GECEX approves the countermeasure, the Strategic Council of Camex will also analyze the matter and make a final decision. There will be public consultation, an opportunity for any interested parties to submit their opinion.

Temporary countermeasures can be applied during the procedure, in exceptional cases. In these cases, considering the urgency of applying a countermeasure, the Ministries members of the Committee themselves will evaluate the impacts on the areas they are responsible for and propose a temporary countermeasure.

The Decree also regulates the diplomatic efforts defined by the Reciprocity Law. The Foreign Affairs Ministry will keep the international partner aware of the procedure to apply the countermeasure in Brazil and will request the diplomatic consultations, intending to end the effects of the original measure to Brazil. The consultations status will be reported to the Interministerial Committee.

With the regulation published, it will be possible to adopt countermeasures in response to unilateral measures that are harmful to the Brazilian international trade, such as the suspension of concessions in the areas of international trade and investments, or even the suspension of obligations related to intellectual property. The Decree is especially relevant considering the current context of United States of America’s threat of imposing additional tariffs 50% on Brazilian imports.