WASHINGTON — The United States will impose a new 25% tariff on thousands of Brazilian imports beginning July 22 after concluding that Brazil maintains a range of unfair trade practices, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced, marking the first use of the Trump administration's renewed Section 301 trade strategy against a foreign trading partner.
The action follows a year-long USTR investigation that found Brazilian policies involving digital trade, electronic payment services, tariff preferences, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access, anti-corruption enforcement and illegal deforestation unfairly burden U.S. commerce, according to the agency.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the measure was intended to address practices that the administration says disadvantage American workers and businesses after negotiations with Brazil failed to produce an agreement.
"Today's action is necessary to address these unfair trade practices to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field," Greer said in a statement issued by the USTR.
The tariffs will apply to a broad range of Brazilian products but exempt several major export categories, including beef, coffee, oranges, orange juice, aircraft parts and components, and certain energy products. Administration officials said the exemptions were designed to avoid disruptions to U.S. supply chains and products that are not produced domestically.
The USTR said it held two public hearings, received more than 360 public comments and conducted extensive negotiations with the Brazilian government before taking final action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the decision, describing the tariffs as unjustified and politically motivated. Brazil said it plans to challenge the measures under its Reciprocity Law and pursue the dispute through the World Trade Organization.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Brazilian government had not negotiated in good faith during the talks and defended the administration's decision to proceed with the tariffs.
Although the United States traditionally runs a trade surplus with Brazil, officials said the investigation focused on what Washington considers longstanding structural barriers affecting U.S. exporters and investors rather than the bilateral trade balance.
The tariff order takes effect next Wednesday, with U.S. officials saying they remain open to further discussions with Brazil should the two countries reach an agreement addressing the concerns identified during the investigation.
