On July 15, 2026, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that, at the direction of President Trump, the United States will impose a 25% tariff on certain goods imported from Brazil under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The additional tariffs will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 22, 2026. They will apply to covered goods that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, on or after this time and date.
Background and USTR Investigation
This final action concludes a yearlong Section 301 investigation initiated by the USTR. The investigation determined that various Brazilian acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.
Specifically, the USTR targeted six categories of Brazil’s conduct:
- Digital Trade & Electronic Payments: Barriers to digital trade and policies that disadvantage U.S. electronic payment service providers.
- Tariff Concessions: Unfair, preferential tariff arrangements extended to other nations that are not reciprocated to the United States.
- Anti-Corruption Interference: A marked backsliding and insufficient enforcement of anti-corruption measures.
- Intellectual Property (IP): Inadequate protection of intellectual property rights and market access for rights holders.
- Ethanol Market Access: Restrictions and a failure to reciprocate favorable U.S. treatment, leading to a decline in U.S. ethanol exports.
- Deforestation: Tolerance of illegal deforestation that provides an unfair commercial advantage over American agricultural producers.
The administration’s determination follows a public comment period that generated over 360 written submissions, a two-day public hearing in early July, and intensive—but ultimately unsuccessful—negotiations with the Brazilian government to resolve these issues.
While the 25% tariff applies broadly to a wide range of Brazilian imports, the USTR has issued specific exemptions based on potential economic harm, unavailability of domestic supply, and other statutory factors. The Federal Register Notice with annex containing a list of exempt HTS numbers may be found here.
The Trade is pending an official announcement and additional guidance from Customs and Border Protection on the implementation of the increased tariffs.
If you have any questions, please contact our Compliance Team or your JSC account supervisor.
