Trump administration imposing 25 percent tariff on some imports from Brazil

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The Trump administration is imposing 25 percent tariffs on certain goods imported from Brazil, after an investigation concluded the South American country employed unfair trade practices.

The office of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday that the yearlong probe into Brazilian practices determined the country’s digital trade policies, poor anti-corruption enforcement and its own tariffs, among other measures, impose “unreasonable” burdens on American farmers, workers, innovators and exporters.

The U.S. is imposing the import taxes pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the federal government to retaliate with tariffs against unfair trade practices by foreign countries.

Greer is exempting certain products from the levies, including aluminum hydroxide; art; certain animal hides; and certain pharmaceutical ingredients, according to a copy of the notice outlining the tariffs published in the Federal Register.

The trade representative’s office noted the new levies come after it “negotiated intensely” with the Brazilian government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday night the nation’s leader, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his team “have not negotiated” with the administration “in good faith.”

“His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians,” Rubio wrote of the leader on social platform X. “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.”

U.S. goods traded with Brazil totaled more than $94.2 billion in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Starting in 2008, U.S. exports to Brazil have cost more than the value of imports from the South American nation.

Greer noted in his office’s release the 25 percent tariffs are necessary “to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field” with their Brazilian counterparts.

“Whether it is punishing U.S. technology companies for refusing to censor political speech, backsliding on anti-corruption enforcement, or allowing Brazilian farmers to exploit illegally logged land to gain an advantage over American farmers, Brazil’s unfair trading practices have prevented U.S. workers and producers from accessing this important market with over 210 million consumers,” he said.

The trade official added later, “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.”

Tags

BRazil

Jamieson Greer

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Marco Rubio

South America

Trade Act of 1974

Trump administration

Trump tariff agenda

U.S. Trade Representative

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