Foreign Affairs

Trump Slaps New Steep Tariff On Socialist-Run Brazil

PT - Partido dos Trabalhadores, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Trump administration is imposing 25% tariffs on Brazil after finding that the socialist-run country had unfair trading practices affecting Americans.

The tax will take effect on July 22 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Products unavailable domestically will be exempt from the tariff, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The administration began investigating Brazil’s trade practices in 2025 under the Ford-era legislation. The yearlong probe found that the country’s digital trade policies and relaxed anti-corruption enforcement impose “unreasonable” burdens on American farmers, workers, innovators, and exporters, per a statement released by USTR Jamieson Greer on Wednesday.

Products exempt from the tariff include coffee, beef, oranges, some oil and gas products and aerospace parts and components, according to Greer’s office

The USTR did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“Whether it is punishing U.S. technology companies for refusing to censor political speech, backsliding on anti-corruption enforcement, or allowing Brazilian farmers to exploit illegally logged land to gain an advantage over American farmers, Brazil’s unfair trading practices have prevented U.S. workers and producers from accessing this important market with over 210 million consumers,” Greer’s statement continued.

Brazil’s socialist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — known as Lula — wrote in a press release posted to X, “There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country.”

“According to the statistics from the U.S. government itself, the United States has accumulated a surplus of $424.5 billion in goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years,” Lula’s post added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously enacted tariffs on Brazil such as a 50% tax protesting the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro — Lula’s Trump-aligned predecessor who he unseated in 2022 — as well as a 40% tax placed on Brazilian beef and coffee, according to CBS.

“Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the U.S. in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a Wednesday X post.

Greer said the tariffs are necessary “to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field,” according to his statement.

Lula is currently running for reelection against Bolsonaro’s son, Flávio.