RIO DE JANEIRO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government is seeking negotiations with the United States concerning the latter's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Friday.

"The U.S. government signed it, but they said they were open to negotiations," Meirelles told the Brazilian press in New York, where he was on a trip to promote foreign investment in Brazil.

"We need to know what negotiation they (the U.S.) want to do. We are analyzing everything from the perspective of what Brazil has to win or lose," he added.

The Brazilian minister said that the U.S. tariff measure was negative for all involved.

The Brazilian government on Thursday expressed its "great concern" over the tariffs and warned of "severe damages" that the measure would have on Brazil and the impact it could have on the commercial and investment ties between the two countries.

Brazil, one of the world's major steel producers, sells 32 percent of its production to the United States.

In 2017, Brazil sold 4.7 million tons of steel to the United States, earning 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, according to official data.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday formally signed proclamations to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum.