US announces new 25% tariffs on Brazil for ‘unfair’ trade practices

By Stephanie Yang, CNN

(CNN) — The US plans to impose a 25% tariff on some Brazilian imports, after a yearlong investigation concluded that the country had engaged in “unfair” trade practices.

United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer ‌announced the measures late Wednesday in a statement, saying their investigation concluded Brazilian policies harm the interests of Americans with practices relating to digital trade, unfair preferential tariffs, ethanol market access and other areas.

“President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X. “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, first proposed last month, will go into effect on July 22.

Exemptions apply to some goods that could disrupt supply chains and that are not produced in the US, a notice shared by the Office of the USTR said. This includes certain raw materials, pharmaceuticals, coffee, among others.

Greer said the US remains open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to resolve the issues.

The US launched the initial investigation last July under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, designed to affect foreign practices affecting US commerce and competitiveness.

That same month President Donald Trump also announced a 50% tariff on Brazil –– later dropped –– and accused its government of human rights abuses. Trump had threatened economic measures if Brazil did not end its trial against the right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Section 301 is most often invoked for countries that run a significant trade surplus with the US like China, which exported $202.1 billion more in goods last year than it imported from the US. The US goods trade surplus with Brazil was $14.4 billion last year, up 112.8% compared to the year prior.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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