China suffers the largest number of trade protection measures applied by Brazil. 12 of the 48 measures currently in effect are against China.
The industrial sectors protected against what Brazil considers unfair Chinese trade practices are: fans, locks, garlic, black and colored pencils, new bicycle tires, mushrooms, magnets, barium carbonate, metallic manganese, powdered manganese, and thermos bottles.
In all of these cases, Brazil applies anti-dumping measures against products that the Chinese sell below their market value. In other words, products they sell abroad for less than what they cost on the local market.
The safeguard measures are also invoked to protect domestic industrial sectors damaged by the excessive entry of imported products. Import restrictions may take the form of quotas or increased import duties.
At the present time the only Brazilian industrial sector protected by safeguards is the toy sector, which has safeguards in effect against all countries, including China, until June of this year.
The general safeguards agreement allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) does not admit safeguards directed against a single country. In addition, the WTO prohibits voluntary restrictions.
Nevertheless, when the trade partner is China, these rules don’t apply. When China jointed the WTO in 2001, its accession protocol took into account the possibility of trade defense measures directed exclusively against China.
The document also determines that China will take the necessary steps to prevent or correct "market disorganization" caused by its exports.
Agência Brasil