The US Trade Representative's office (USTR) has said it will impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Brazil. The charges are set to come into effect in a week, on July 22.
The trade barriers are the first of their kind since the Supreme Court annulled the cornerstone of US President Donald Trump's prior sweeping tariff regime, famously announced on what Trump dubbed "Liberation Day" in 2025.
It also comes amid friction between the Trump administration and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, not least because of Trump's ties to Brazil's far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro and his family. Brazil votes in general elections this October.What US measures are planned against Brazil?
Following an investigation, the USTR argued that Brazil's trade practices on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation were unfair. It also singled out Brazil's instant payment system, Pix, arguing that this disadvantages US credit card companies.
"Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation," the USTR's Jamieson Greer said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
