The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has said it will impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Brazil. The charges are due to come into effect in a week on July 22.
The trade barriers are the first of their kind since the Supreme Court struck down a cornerstone of US President Donald Trump’s former sweeping tariff regime, which Trump had dubbed “Liberation Day” in 2025.
It also comes amid tensions between the Trump administration and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, not least over Trump’s ties to Brazil’s former right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro and his family. Brazil will hold general elections this October.
What are the planned US measures against Brazil?
Following an investigation, the USTR argued that Brazil’s trade practices were unfair on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation. It also exposed Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix, arguing that it harms US credit card companies.
“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we stand ready to continue the dialogue with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” USTR’s Jameson Greer said in a statement released Wednesday.
Greer called protecting American economic interests against unfair practices “the cornerstone of President Trump’s America First policies.”
The tariffs will apply to most Brazilian imports, including sugar, agricultural machinery, clothing, electrical machinery, paper and steel.
But various products that are in high demand among American consumers or businesses are exempted, including beef, coffee, rare earths, energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, organic honey and pig iron.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the blame lay on Lula and his administration, insisting that he had not negotiated with the US in good faith.
“[Lula’s] “Economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians,” Rubio wrote. “For the past year, Lula has put his ego before striking a deal for the welfare of Brazilians, and these tariffs are the price of that.”
How do Trump’s relations match up with Lula and Bolsonaro?
Brazilian President Lula on Thursday described the move as a “sad milestone” in bilateral relations.
He said there was “no justification” for the “unilateral imposition” of tariffs, and played the Trumpian card somewhat in reverse, pointing to the US’s large trade surplus with Brazil. He said Brazil would seek mutual remedies through the WTO dispute mechanism.
Lula also alleged that the move was “part of a conspiracy hatched with the active collaboration of the Bolsonaro family”, a reference to former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing a prison sentence for plotting a coup following his efforts to cling to power following his narrow defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
Trump and Bolsonaro, who briefly fled to Florida while facing prosecution in Brazil, are considered close allies. One of Jair’s sons, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, spoke with Trump in the Oval Office in late May, a few weeks after the last meeting between Trump and Lula.
However, presidential candidate Young Bolsonaro appealed at a USTR meeting in May not to impose tariffs on Brazil, arguing it was an obligation to help Lula in his bid for a record fourth term in office this October.
Why does the Trump administration have to rethink its tariff policies?
The new tariffs have been imposed based on an investigation into alleged unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.
This became necessary as the Supreme Court struck down a previous wave of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, holding that they had overstepped their authority.
The USTR has since launched approximately 80 investigations of this nature, seemingly trying to lay the groundwork for imposing substitution barriers to trade. All kinds of big and small powers face such scrutiny, including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
Edited by: Carl Sexton
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