The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has put forward a proposal for a 25% punitive tariff on a wide array of imports from Brazil after concluding a Section 301 investigation into the country’s trade practices. The probe, launched last year under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, found Brazil’s conduct to be unfair across several areas, including digital trade, electronic payment services, preferential tariff arrangements, protections for intellectual property, access for ethanol to U.S. markets and illegal deforestation.
The new duty schedule would apply to many Brazilian products but explicitly excludes several categories. Among the items listed as excluded are beef, coffee, rare earths, certain other metals and aircraft parts. The USTR released the investigation results together with the list of proposed duties and carve-outs.
These proposed 25% tariffs are designed to partially replace a previous set of duties that imposed a 50% tariff on many Brazilian goods. That earlier package, introduced last year, included a 40% component that was framed as punishment for Brazil’s prosecution of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro. The prior duties were nullified when the U.S. Supreme Court struck them down in February, creating a legal and policy gap that the current 25% proposal seeks to address.
The administration’s findings name multiple distinct areas of concern. Digital trade and electronic payment services were singled out alongside preferential tariff treatment and intellectual property protections. The report also identified ethanol market access and illegal deforestation as specific trade-related grievances. The USTR’s action frames the 25% tariff as a calibrated response across those domains.
Implementation of the new duties would depend on subsequent administrative steps. The proposal follows the statutory process that governs Section 301 investigations and remedies, and it reflects an attempt to recalibrate punitive measures after the Supreme Court decision earlier this year.
Sectoral implications - The measures touch on multiple parts of the economy, including digital services and payment providers, agricultural and biofuel markets related to ethanol, and trade in metals and aircraft components to the extent they are excluded or included by the final list.