The United States will impose a new 25% tariff on a wide range of Brazilian exports, including furniture, ethanol, machinery, footwear and sugar, marking the first major move under President Donald Trump’s revised trade strategy.
The announcement, made late Wednesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), comes after Trump’s previous global tariff measures were struck down by the US Supreme Court earlier this year. The new duties will instead be enforced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which targets countries accused of unfair trade practices.
The tariffs are scheduled to take effect on July 22, just days before Trump’s temporary 10% global tariff is due to expire. However, key Brazilian exports such as beef, coffee, aircraft, aircraft parts, rare earth minerals and energy products remain exempt from the new measures.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said months of negotiations with Brazil had failed to resolve concerns over issues including digital trade, illegal deforestation and other trade practices.
“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing discussions to address the problems identified in the investigation,” Greer said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rejected the tariffs, saying the US decision lacked justification and accusing Washington of acting for political reasons rather than legitimate trade concerns.
Lula said Brazil would invoke measures under its Reciprocity Law and pursue the dispute through the World Trade Organization (WTO).
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also criticised Lula, accusing the Brazilian government of failing to negotiate in good faith.
“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,” Rubio wrote on social media.
Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira condemned Rubio’s remarks as “unacceptable” and “offensive”, insisting Brazil had remained committed to dialogue throughout the negotiations.
The tariffs will affect thousands of Brazilian products exported to the United States, including agricultural machinery, paper, apparel and electrical equipment. Products already covered under existing US Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminium, copper and automobiles will not face the additional duties.
According to Brazil’s Trade Ministry, around 18% of the country’s exports to the US, worth approximately US$7 billion annually, will be affected. The timber, machinery, furniture and footwear industries are expected to be among the hardest hit.
Business groups in both countries have expressed concern over the move. The American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil said expanded exemptions would protect around US$11 billion in annual trade but warned Brazil still faces some of the toughest conditions for access to the US market.
Meanwhile, a separate Section 301 investigation into alleged forced labour in supply chains is expected to conclude on July 24. If approved, it could add another 12.5% tariff on affected Brazilian products, raising the combined tariff burden to 37.5%.
