BRASILIA, July 17 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government has authorized nearly 13.3 billion reais ($2.6 billion) in extraordinary credit for rural development programs, debt-refinancing initiatives, and support for sugarcane producers affected by U.S. tariffs, it said in an extra edition of the official gazette late on Thursday.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced a 25% tariff on numerous Brazilian products on Wednesday in response to what it described as Brazil’s unfair trade practices.
• The executive order allocates 9 billion reais for rural technology development projects, focusing on productivity gains and competitiveness.
• It designates 3 billion reais for a program supporting financial rebalancing for borrowers.
• The order directs 270 million reais as economic subsidies to independent sugarcane producers in Brazil’s Northeast region affected by extreme weather and by the new U.S. tariffs.
• It also provides 1 billion reais for student-loan beneficiaries and 15 million reais for Brazil’s voluntary contribution to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
• Brazilian Finance Minister Dario Durigan said on Thursday that the government could announce by early August support measures for sectors hit by U.S. trade measures.
• The executive order takes effect immediately for a limited period of time, pending approval by Congress.
($1 = 5.0961 reais)
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Isabel Teles, editing by Andrei Khalip )