The United States has decided to levy a 25% tariff on imports from Brazil, citing various unfair trade practices by the South American nation, which ranks as the 10th largest economy globally. These tariffs, which were initially proposed last month, are set to be enforced starting July 22.
Some products will be exempted from these tariffs to prevent disruptions in supply chains or because they are not produced in the U.S. Among the exempted items are coffee, beef, oranges, orange juice, certain oil and gas energy products, and aerospace parts and components.
A yearlong investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative revealed what it described as Brazil’s unfair trade practices. These included inadequate anti-corruption enforcement and the imposition of unreasonable tariffs. Despite these issues, the U.S. has maintained a goods trade surplus with Brazil for several years.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer highlighted the necessity of this action in a statement, emphasizing the need for American workers and companies to compete fairly. “Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” he stated.
The announcement of the tariffs elicited a strong response from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who accused political rival Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of influencing the decision. Bolsonaro, who recently visited Washington, is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his views on the situation via a post on X, stating: “Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”
The tariffs are being enforced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the U.S. to investigate trade practices of other nations.
In a related development, the U.S. Supreme Court in February invalidated several tariffs that Trump had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. The court decided that Trump had exceeded his authority with those tariffs, which included a 50% tariff on Brazil in response to its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn his 2022 election defeat. However, Trump’s rapport with Lula appeared to improve following a visit to the White House in May.
