Washington Sets 25% Levies on Selected Brazilian Goods as Trade Probe Concludes

Beef, coffee, and rare-earth materials escaped US tariffs amid trade tensions with Brazil over alleged unfair practices.

The United States will apply 25 percent tariffs to thousands of Brazilian products such as sugar, clothing, paper, and steel as the White House adjusts its trade policy.

TheOffice of the US Trade Representative announced the new Brazil tariffs late Wednesday. They represent the first duties under the administration’s revised trade approach using Section 301, a statute permitting inquiries into alleged unfair trade practices that can justify punitive levies.

The tariffs, proposed last month, are scheduled to take effect on July 22 and will exclude several goods, including beef and coffee—both of which have grown costlier for US consumers over the past year during President Donald Trump’s trade conflict.

Beef prices have risen 11.8 percent from a year ago, per the latest Consumer Price Index from the US Labor Department, while coffee is up 12 percent.

Carve-outs also cover some rare-earth inputs, aircraft components, and specific oil and gas items.

Although the US trade surplus with Brazil has expanded to $14.4 billion in 2025 from $7.7 billion in 2024, the duties follow a yearlong probe asserting Brazil engaged in unfair practices, including in digital trade and on illegal deforestation.

Brazilian leaders, notably President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have rejected the claims as politically driven, citing the country’s prosecution of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro—a Trump ally—over an alleged coup attempt.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to Lula on X, arguing the Brazilian president, facing re-election, had not dealt with the US “in good faith”.

“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,” Rubio said.

The tariffs arrive after more than 30 bilateral meetings.

“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,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

The measures are the first Section 301 tariffs since the Supreme Court voided Trump’s broad global tariffs earlier this year, ruling he lacked authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Similar talks continue with the EU, India, Japan, and South Korea.

Brazil is also subject to a separate Section 301 probe ending this month over forced labour allegations in numerous countries.

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