The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed setting a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports into the USA following its investigation into unfair trade practices by the South American country, Ethanol Producer reported.
In mid-July 2025, USTR launched a Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s unfair trading practices.
Established by the Trade Act of 1974, a Section 301 investigation can be used to respond to unjustifiable, unreasonable or discriminatory foreign government practices that burden or restrict US commerce.
In its initial findings published on 1 June, USTR said some of Brazil’s acts, policies and practices – including those related to digital trade and electronic payment services; unfair, preferential tariffs; anti-corruption enforcement; intellectual property protection; ethanol market access; and illegal deforestation – were unreasonable and burdened or restricted US commerce, and as a result were actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act.
Regarding unfair, preferential tariffs, USTR found that Brazil gave lower, preferential tariff treatment to hundreds of Mexican and Indian goods across multiple sectors, the 2 June report said.
With regard to illegal deforestation, USTR found that despite having a legal framework for combatting illegal deforestation, Brazil had historically failed to effectively enforce this legal framework, and illegal deforestation persisted.
As a result of its investigation, USTR said it was proposing to apply 25% tariffs on goods from Brazil, with exemptions for certain goods, including informational materials, donations, accompanied baggage, all articles and parts of articles subject to section 232 tariffs, and specific products identified in the annex of the Federal Register notice.
According to USTR, the proposed exemptions included raw materials that, if subjected to the proposed additional tariffs, could lead to lack of availability of domestic supply.
Exemptions also included products that could cause economy-wide disruptions if subjected to the proposed additional tariffs; and specific products that could not be grown or produced in sufficient quantities in the USA or obtained from other sources.
USTR is accepting written comments on its proposal until 1 July and has scheduled a hearing for 6 July.
