US sets 25% tariffs on Brazil while sparing coffee and beef
The July 22 tariffs follow a U.S. trade investigation, with exemptions aimed at limiting supply disruptions for key imports.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
The United States will impose 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil starting July 22, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said, after a yearlong inquiry into Brazilian trade policies. The order matters for U.S. consumers and companies because it exempts several major Brazilian exports, including coffee, beef, oranges, orange juice, some energy products and aerospace parts.
The trade office said it found a series of Brazilian practices it considered unreasonable or unfair. According to the USTR, those included weak anti-corruption enforcement, tariffs viewed as unfair and other policies that Washington said hurt U.S. workers and businesses.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the tariffs were needed to give American companies and workers fairer conditions in trade with Brazil. Greer also said talks with Brazil over the past year had not settled the disputes, while adding that Washington remained willing to keep negotiating.
The exemptions cover goods that U.S. officials said are either not made domestically or could create supply problems if taxed, according to the order. Coffee and beef are among the most visible carve-outs, along with citrus products, selected oil and gas items, and aerospace parts and components.
Rubio blames Lula government
Secretary of State Marco Rubio used the tariff announcement to criticize Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In a post on X, Rubio said Lula’s government had not bargained with Washington in good faith and argued that Lula’s economic policies harmed both Americans and Brazilians.
Rubio wrote that Lula had put his “own ego” ahead of a deal for the Brazilian people, calling the tariffs the consequence of that choice. The comments added a sharp political edge to a trade action that U.S. officials framed as the result of a formal investigation.
Lula had pushed back after U.S. officials warned in early June that the tariffs were under consideration. According to the account of his response, Lula rejected the trade rationale and pointed instead to Brazilian political rival Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, who had recently been in Washington.
Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump. Jair Bolsonaro has faced prosecution in Brazil over an alleged attempt to overturn his 2022 election defeat, according to the reported background to the dispute.
Tariffs follow a legal setback
The new duties are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the USTR said. That law allows Washington to investigate and respond to foreign trade practices it finds improper.
The legal basis differs from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which Trump had used for a separate set of tariffs. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against many of those tariffs, finding that Trump had exceeded his authority under that law, according to the court’s ruling described in the report.
Trump had used that emergency-powers law to place a 50% tariff on Brazil in protest of Jair Bolsonaro’s prosecution. Despite that earlier clash, Trump’s relationship with Lula appeared to improve in May after a White House visit, according to the reported timeline.
The U.S. has recorded a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years, a fact that sits uneasily beside the administration’s case for tariffs. U.S. officials nevertheless said the Section 301 investigation identified trade practices they want Brazil to change.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.