The US plans to impose a 25% tariff on some Brazilian imports, after a yearlong investigation concluded that the nation had engaged in “unfair” trade practices.
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer introduced the measures late Wednesday in an announcement, saying their investigation concluded Brazilian insurance policies hurt the pursuits of Americans with practices regarding digital trade, unfair preferential tariffs, ethanol market entry and different areas.
“President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X. “His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. 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.”
The tariffs, first proposed final month, will go into impact on July 22.
Exemptions apply to some items that would disrupt provide chains and that aren’t produced within the US, a notice shared by the Office of the USTR mentioned. This consists of sure uncooked supplies, prescription drugs, espresso, amongst others.
Greer mentioned the US stays open to persevering with negotiations with Brazil to resolve the problems.
The US launched the preliminary investigation final July underneath Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, designed to have an effect on international practices affecting US commerce and competitiveness.
That identical month President Donald Trump additionally introduced a 50% tariff on Brazil –– later dropped –– and accused its authorities of human rights abuses. Trump had threatened financial measures if Brazil didn’t finish its trial towards the right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Section 301 is most frequently invoked for international locations that run a major trade surplus with the US like China, which exported $202.1 billion extra in items final yr than it imported from the US. The US items trade surplus with Brazil was $14.4 billion final yr, up 112.8% in comparison with the yr prior.
This is a growing story and will probably be up to date.