The United States announced a 25% tariff on most products imported from Brazil, escalating trade tensions between the two countries after the conclusion of an investigation based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The new charge takes effect on July 22 and, according to Washington, responds to what it considers unfair trade practices adopted by the Brazilian government.
Among the reasons cited by American authorities are decisions that forced U.S. technology companies, such as X, Meta, and Google, to remove political content and suspend accounts of American citizens. The government also criticized failures in intellectual property protection, barriers to the ethanol market, and trade policies considered preferential toward other partners.
Despite the scope of the measure, some Brazilian products will remain exempt from the additional tariff, including beef, orange juice, aircraft, aircraft parts, and products from the energy sector.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rejected the decision and said that Brazil will resort to the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in addition to preparing response measures.
According to Lula, there is no justification for unilateral actions, highlighting that the U.S. government's own data show a cumulative surplus of US$ 424,5 billion for the United States in trade in goods and services with Brazil over the last 15 years. In 2025 alone, that positive balance was US$ 14,4 billion.
The new tariff marks another stage in the trade policy of current U.S. President Donald Trump. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 50% tariffs previously imposed on Brazilian products, keeping only a global tariff of 10%. Now, the White House has once again used Section 301 as the legal basis to expand trade restrictions.
In a statement, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said that the new tariffs are necessary to create more balanced conditions for American workers and companies.
The chief economist of the World Trade Organization, Robert Staiger, assessed that the United States continues to change the legal mechanism used to impose tariffs, although the overall impact remains similar to that seen since 2025.
“This does not mean that different countries are not being affected in different ways, but, in general terms, for world trade, we do not see tariffs in the U.S. — tariff actions — as something that causes a major shock in the same way it did in 2025.”
“The shock is more related to the conflict in the Middle East.”
After the announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Lula's government “did not negotiate in good faith” and stated that the tariffs represent the price paid by the Brazilian president for “putting his own ego ahead of an agreement”.
In addition to the 25% tariff, another investigation conducted by the United States into alleged forced labor could result in an additional charge of 12,5% on Brazilian products. Meanwhile, the trade dispute has also begun to influence the political debate in Brazil on the eve of the presidential elections in October.