(AFP) – The United States announced on Wednesday a new tariff on various imports from Brazil, following a year-long investigation into the Latin American giant’s trade and other policies. The 25 percent tariff is set to take effect on July 22, as the Trump administration seeks to rebuild its tariff agenda following legal setbacks.
A range of products including beef, coffee, and certain aircraft parts will be exempted, a senior US official told reporters. The exclusions also cover certain goods that the United States does not produce. Brazil condemned the tariffs on Thursday, promising that “reciprocal” measures would be taken. “There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s office said in a statement on X.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Brazil’s “unreasonable acts, policies, and practices” have hurt US commerce by unfairly benefitting Brazilian producers and “restricting access to one of the world’s top export markets.” “We remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” Greer said in a statement. In earlier findings, the US investigation deemed that certain practices by Brazil were “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce.” Brazil has denied all allegations of unfair trade practices, calling them “unfounded” and “absurd.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Brazilian government had “not negotiated with the US in good faith.” “Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that,” he said in a post on X.
The new tariff comes as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to rebuild his economic agenda after the US Supreme Court in February struck down a swath of his global tariffs. The Brazil tariffs were justified under Section 301 of the Trade Act, Greer’s office said, and the Trump administration this year initiated other probes using the same authority.
US officials have already proposed new tariffs targeting dozens of trading partners for their alleged failures to act against forced labor. In Brazil’s case, a senior US official took aim Wednesday at what Washington deemed as adverse actions on digital trade, alongside “unfair” competition linked to the state-owned electronic payments system PIX, among other issues. The official rejected criticism that Section 301 probes were being used for political purposes. The official said the door to negotiations remains open, although Washington wishes for its concerns — including allegations Brazil gives preferential treatment to partners like Mexico and India — to be resolved.
While the Trump administration said it does not expect retaliation following Wednesday’s announcement, it warned that pushback could invite further US countermeasures. At a public hearing held by Greer’s office in Washington this month, Brazilian conservative presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro urged the United States against imposing the new tariffs. The eldest son of Brazil’s former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro argued that new duties would benefit Lula, his political rival. The pair are top competitors in the October presidential election.
Last year, the Trump administration hit Brazil with sharp tariffs over the coup trial against Jair Bolsonaro, who is now serving a 27-year prison sentence. Many of the duties were rolled back after talks between both sides.
– Beiyi SEOW
© 2024 AFP
