The United States is set to implement a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports starting July 22, marking the first significant measure under President Donald Trump’s revised tariff strategy. The move follows nearly a year of investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office into Brazil’s trade practices under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, citing alleged unfair actions ranging from digital trade barriers to environmental issues like illegal deforestation.
This new tariff initiative comes after an earlier Supreme Court decision struck down the Trump administration’s main tariff framework. The recent policy action revives U.S. capacity to levy duties on countries that, according to U.S. authorities, engage in unfair trade conduct.
According to U.S. officials, negotiations with Brazilian authorities over the course of the past year did not resolve their concerns, but the U.S. has stated it remains prepared to continue discussions to address the disputed topics.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed the tariff decision to what he called insufficient engagement by the Brazilian government, claiming that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had prioritized personal interests over negotiations for the public benefit.
Brazil’s President Lula, responding to the tariffs on social media, dismissed the U.S. action as unjustified and announced that Brazil will pursue available trade remedies under the “Reciprocity Law” as well as within the World Trade Organization’s dispute resolution system. Lula also noted that the U.S. goods and services trade balance with Brazil has been positive for the United States for over a decade
The 25% duty will cover a wide range of Brazilian products, including sugar, apparel, steel, paper, agricultural and electrical machinery. However, exemptions have been granted for several items, such as coffee, beef, rare earths, energy products, unflavored instant coffee, pig iron, aircraft, and aircraft parts.
Additionally, Brazil is currently the subject of another Section 301 review concerning forced labor in global supply chains, a process scheduled to conclude on July 24. This could lead to an added tariff of 12.5%, further raising the total charge on Brazilian goods imported into the U.S. to 37.5%.
