USTR Proposes a 25% Tariff on Nearly All Brazilian Goods After a Six-Part Trade Finding

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a determination on June 4, 2026 finding six categories of Brazilian conduct actionable under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974: digital trade and payment practices, including secret court orders removing content and preferential treatment of the Pix payment system; tariff rates favoring Mexico and India over U.S. goods; insufficient anti-corruption enforcement and the annulment of major corruption cases; weak intellectual-property enforcement; reimposed tariffs restricting U.S. ethanol; and inadequate enforcement against illegal deforestation. USTR proposed a 25 percent duty on most Brazilian goods, exempting certain raw materials, donated items and aircraft parts.

Section 301 lets the executive branch impose tariffs unilaterally after an agency finding, without a congressional vote. Grounding a country-wide tariff partly in another government's judicial rulings, corruption prosecutions and environmental enforcement extends the statute past the trade-barrier disputes it has historically addressed.

USTR set a July 1, 2026 comment deadline and a July 6 hearing. The action was a proposal open for comment, not a rate in effect.