(COMBO) In this file photo collection created on December 2, 2025, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para state, Brazil, on November 19, 2025, and US President Donald Trump speaks at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on December 2, in Washington, DC Room 2.
Pablo Porciuncula, andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
The United States has imposed 25% tariffs on most imports from Brazil starting next week, ending an annual investigation into what Washington calls unfair trade practices, and escalating tensions with the Latin American country after talks broke down.
The action, taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, targets Brazilian practices, such as orders that direct American technology companies – including X, Meta, and Google – to remove certain political content and temporarily suspend the accounts of US citizens, the preferential taxes of Mexico and India, the use of weak intellectual property, and the ethanol market.
The 25% tariff, which will take effect on July 22, will apply to most imports from Brazil, with the exception of certain goods such as beef, orange juice, aircraft and parts, and energy products.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a statement sent to X dismissed the tariff decision as baseless, and vowed to initiate countermeasures while raising the issue within the framework of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.
There was “no reason for joint measures,” since Washington spent 424.5 billion in goods and services with Brazil in 15 years, the president said, citing US government data. The US goods trade surplus with Brazil was $14.4 billion last year, more than double the previous year.
The new US tariffs come after the Supreme Court in February reduced President Donald Trump’s previous 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, maintaining a global tax of 10%. Trump wants to restore his tax powers by introducing the Section 301 investigation, which allows him to impose tariffs on countries found to be involved in unfair trade practices, without additional congressional authorization.
The additional tariffs are necessary to level the playing field for American workers and companies, the US trade representative’s office said in a statement.
In a text to X shortly after the official announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Lula’s government “did not negotiate honestly” and that the tariffs were the price of Lula “putting his ego before making a deal.”
The move followed months of negotiations, including several high-level meetings between Brazilian officials and USTR representatives in recent weeks.
Lula reportedly said last month that Brazil would not accept the treatment his country received, referring to Trump’s proposed 25% tariff increase.
A separate American investigation into labor enforcement could see another 12.5% duty on Brazilian goods over 25%, and the decision will come out next week.
This conflict has spilled over into Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October. Lula accused Senator Flavio Bolsonaro of helping to implement the tariffs after his visit to Washington, although the senator denied it and said he planned to lobby the Trump administration to delay the introduction of the tariffs until after the election.
