RIO DE JANEIRO — A fresh escalation in transatlantic trade tensions has erupted after the United States announced a 25% tariff on select Brazilian imports, drawing swift condemnation from Brazil’s federal government and promises of proportional countermeasures tied to ongoing political friction between the two nations. The new trade measure, first floated publicly last month, is set to enter into force on July 22, with carveouts for specific goods that the U.S. does not produce domestically or that Washington officials warned would disrupt critical global supply chains. Exempted products include key Brazilian export staples such as coffee, beef, oranges, orange juice, and commercial aircraft components.
U.S. officials justified the new tariffs by repeating unsubstantiated claims that Brazil engages in unfair trade practices, a longstanding talking point for the current Trump administration that has leaned heavily on unilateral tariff action to address perceived global trade imbalances. But Brazilian authorities have pushed back forcefully against these allegations, releasing data that undermines Washington’s narrative. According to an official statement released Wednesday evening from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s office, 76% of U.S. goods entered Brazil duty-free in 2025, with the average effective tariff applied to American imports sitting at just 3.1%.
A striking, little-noted detail of this trade dispute is that the U.S. already holds a substantial trade surplus with Brazil, a sharp departure from the Trump administration’s standard focus on reducing overall trade deficits. In the last full year of recorded trade data, U.S. exports to Brazil outpaced Brazilian imports to the U.S. by nearly $42 billion, marking the third-largest U.S. trade surplus globally, behind only surpluses with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Brazil is moving forward with two parallel retaliatory pathways, per the presidential statement. Officials will immediately launch formal procedures to activate countermeasures under Brazil’s own domestic reciprocity law, while also bringing the dispute to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement system, the global body’s formal process for resolving cross-border trade conflicts. Lula’s administration has also rejected the U.S.’s unilateral investigation framework, noting that Brazil does not recognize the legitimacy of trade probes that do not align with established multilateral trade rules. In a pointed remark tying the new tariffs to previous political tensions, Lula blamed the latest round of trade measures on the family of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a close political ally of Trump.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted Brazilian imports with steep tariffs. Last July, the administration imposed a 25% tariff on a range of Brazilian goods, justifying that move at the time by claiming a political “witch hunt” was underway against Bolsonaro, who was on trial for his role in the 2022 coup attempt following his election loss to Lula. Bolsonaro was ultimately convicted on charges related to the insurrection, and some of those earlier tariffs were later rolled back. That original tariff action followed a Section 301 investigation under the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, launched at Trump’s direction, which concluded in June with claims that Brazil failed to enforce adequate anti-corruption regulations and maintained unfair tariff levels.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the new tariffs in a post on the social platform X, claiming the measures came about because Lula prioritized “his own ego ahead of making a deal” and failed to negotiate in good faith. Brazil’s government swiftly rejected that accusation, affirming it “never left the negotiating table” to resolve the dispute through diplomatic channels.
Beyond trade, the new tariffs are already rippling into Brazil’s domestic political landscape, as the country prepares for October presidential elections where Lula will face a leading challenge from Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president. Flávio Bolsonaro reposted Rubio’s announcement of the tariffs to his own social media, adding a sharply critical attack on Lula, claiming the incumbent “is no longer fit to be the president of Brazil. We are on a plane without a pilot.” He labeled Lula “the Brazilian Biden,” calling the incumbent “grumpy, reckless, and a danger to our nation.” Both leading candidates have already made public criticisms and jabs over their respective approaches to the unpopular U.S. tariffs, with both campaigns viewing voter perceptions of their handling of the trade dispute as a key electoral issue ahead of the vote.
Brazil’s leading industrial business group, the National Confederation of Industry, released a statement Thursday warning that the new tariffs will create added strain on Brazilian export sectors and deepen economic uncertainty for businesses on both sides of the trade relationship.
Paul Wiseman contributed reporting to this article from Washington D.C.