In a late announcement issued Monday, the second Trump administration unveiled a proposal to levy 25% tariffs on a portion of Brazilian imports to the United States, opening a new flashpoint in bilateral trade tensions between the two Western Hemisphere powers. The proposal follows a months-long investigation conducted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), which accuses Brazil, the world’s 10th-largest economy, of maintaining trade practices that Washington labels unreasonable and harmful to American commercial interests. Among the specific allegations cited are insufficient anti-corruption enforcement by Brazilian authorities and existing unfair Brazilian tariff barriers that disadvantage U.S. exporters.
USTR chief Jamieson Greer acknowledged that the Trump administration had held what he described as constructive discussions with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other senior Brazilian economic and trade officials in recent weeks. Despite those talks, however, Greer confirmed that the two sides remain far apart on addressing the core concerns raised during the Section 301 investigation. “We continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues identified in this investigation,” Greer stated in formal comments accompanying the proposal. To allow for public and industry input, the USTR has scheduled a public hearing on the planned tariffs for July 6, giving interested stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the potential economic impacts of the new duties.
The current proposal marks a strategic shift for the Trump administration, coming after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major legal blow to the administration’s earlier trade actions in February. In a landmark ruling, the high court found that Trump had overstepped his executive authority when he imposed a 25%? No correction: Last year, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a move widely interpreted as a protest against the Brazilian judiciary’s prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, Trump’s political ally. Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist who preceded Lula in office, is currently facing trial for his role in attempted coup efforts to overturn his narrow 2022 electoral defeat, a case that has drawn harsh criticism from Trump and his allies.
The Supreme Court’s February ruling invalidated all sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump under IEEPA, eliminating a key tool the administration had used to pressure trading partners and wiping out billions in projected tariff revenue. Unlike IEEPA, however, tariffs authorized under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act — the legal authority the administration is relying on for the new Brazilian tariffs — have withstood repeated legal challenges in U.S. courts. Trade analysts note the administration’s new move is part of a broader strategy to shift its aggressive trade agenda to a more legally solid foundation, while also working to recover lost tariff revenue from the scrapped IEEPA duties.
Ryan Majerus, a trade attorney and partner at the international law firm King & Spalding, pointed out that the proposed tariff package carves out exceptions for more than half of all U.S. imports from Brazil. Key excluded products include Brazilian civilian aircraft and critical industrial minerals, which are heavily relied on by U.S. manufacturing and aerospace sectors. The exemption of these strategically important goods suggests the administration has sought to limit potential economic backlash from U.S. industries that depend on Brazilian imports, while still maintaining pressure on the Brazilian government to make trade and policy concessions.