Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro - who has said he plans to compete in the country's presidential election in October - has formally registered to give testimony at a public hearing of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) scheduled for July 6. The appearance is intended to oppose a proposed 25% tariff on goods imported from Brazil.
The hearing will review a recommendation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to impose the tariff. That recommendation follows a USTR investigation into Brazil's trade practices, which the agency summarized by saying it had identified what it described as "unreasonable" practices.
The USTR made its findings public shortly after the senator's trip to the United States, during which he met President Donald Trump and senior members of the U.S. administration. After the tariffs were announced, Flavio Bolsonaro said he had asked President Trump not to tax Brazilian companies.
Bolsonaro's office released a summary of the testimony he plans to deliver, which frames his opposition in terms of the interests of people and businesses in both countries. In that summary, the senator said he opposes the tariff "on behalf of the consumers and producers of both countries, and in defense of a partnership that has served the United States and Brazil for more than 80 years."
The July 6 public hearing will provide a forum for the ITC to consider the USTR's recommendation and for registered participants, including Bolsonaro, to present arguments. The proposal under consideration calls for a 25% tariff on Brazilian goods and is the outcome of the USTR's investigation into trade practices it judged to be "unreasonable."
Bolsonaro's registration to appear signals an active engagement by a prominent Brazilian political figure in a bilateral trade dispute that directly concerns exporters and importers in both countries. His stated motive is to defend consumers and producers in both markets and to preserve the long-standing partnership between the United States and Brazil.
Context limitations: The public summary of the senator's planned testimony and the USTR's findings are the primary details available in connection with the scheduled hearing and the proposed tariff. The ITC hearing on July 6 will consider the USTR recommendation but the final administrative or policy outcome is not provided here.