The U.S. Trade Representative is proposing a 25% tariff on a wide range of Brazilian goods following an investigation into the nation's trade practices. 

The 25% duty would apply to most Brazilian goods, but a list of products that includes coffee, orange juice, cocoa and some beef cuts would be exempted. 

USTR proposed the duties following a year-long investigation into several aspects of Brazil's trade practices, including ethanol market access, deforestation, preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement, digital trade, and intellectual property. A USTR press release published Monday said some of these Brazilian practices "are actionable" under Section 301 of the Trade Act, which allows USTR to retaliate by imposing tariffs if it finds a country is engaging in unfair trade practices or violating trade agreements. 

The agency will take written comments on its proposal until July 1, and plans to hold a public hearing on July 6. 

In the release, USTR Jamieson Greer said he and President Donald Trump over the last year have had "several constructive meetings" with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which "have accelerated in recent weeks." However, he added that U.S. and Brazilian leaders "continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues identified in this investigation."

"I look forward to continuing engagement with the Brazilian Government in advance of the July 15, 2026, statutory deadline for taking responsive action," he said.

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Ethanol market access was one component of the USTR's investigation into Brazil. In a notice Monday, USTR General Counsel Jennifer Thornton called current 18% Brazilian tariffs on U.S. ethanol "unreasonable" and said they've led to falling U.S. ethanol exports to the country. 

In September 2017, Brazil imposed a tariff-rate quota of 600 million liters annually with an out-of-quota rate of 20% on ethanol imports. Brazil's tariff-rate quota on ethanol imports was expanded to 750 million liters annually in September 2019 but expired in 2020. After that, U.S. ethanol faced 20% tariffs, though these were lowered to 18% in 2021.

Thornton wrote that U.S. exports to Brazil totaled $96 million in 2025, an 87% decrease from the peak export value of $761 million in of 2018. Meanwhile, she said that "Brazilian ethanol exporters have continued to benefit from relatively open U.S. market access," pointing out that U.S. imports of ethanol from Brazil in 2025 amounted to around $203 million.

Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira pushed back against USTR's claims in a comment to the agency last year, noting the 18% tariffs apply to all countries, not just the U.S. He contended that because the tariff "is not discriminatory with respect to U.S. imports and is below Brazil's bound rates, it is in full compliance with Brazil's obligations under articles I and II of the World Trade Organization's general agreement on tariffs."

In a statement to Agri-Pulse on Tuesday, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said his organization agrees with USTR that Brazil's ethanol trade policies are unreasonable and restrictive, and that it supports "the Trump administration's efforts to level the playing field."

"The U.S. ethanol industry would prefer to return to days of free and open two-way trade with Brazil. But the Brazilians have instead chosen to enforce punitive tariffs and technical barriers that have resulted in lost market opportunities and financial harm to U.S. producers," Cooper said. "Thus, the Trump administration has no choice but to respond in kind."

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said in a statement Monday that American ethanol producers "have been sounding the alarm on Brazil for years" and said she appreciated "USTR recognizing Brazil's unfair trade advantage arising from its insufficient action on deforestation."

"We applaud USTR for continuing to press Brazil on the issue of fairness and we look forward to reviewing the determination in detail and providing further comments to support the ultimate goal of delivering a level playing field for ethanol in the western hemisphere."

USTR has also raised concerns about whether Brazil is doing enough to prevent deforestation, with Thornton arguing in the notice that illegal deforestation persists, despite Brazil's legal framework for combating it. She claimed property entries made under a Brazilian registry used for traceability are "not adequately audited for fraud and false information." 

Thornton also pointed to estimates indicating over 90% of deforestation in Brazil since 2001 is tied to the conversion of forestland to agricultural production. She also cited figures suggesting that between 2018 and 2022, cattle ranching drove 78% of commodity-attributed deforestation.

"Brazil’s acts, polices, and practices with respect to illegal deforestation are unreasonable because they fail to effectively enforce Brazil’s own laws, do not apply basic checks to ensure consistency with those laws, and promote unfair competition of Brazilian agricultural and wood products with goods produced without those practices," she wrote. 

However, Vieira told the USTR last year in his comment that Brazil’s surplus with the U.S. for trade products “is not attributable to goods linked with deforestation.” More than 70% of the total trade value of Brazil’s agricultural exports to the U.S. are tropical products like coffee, orange juice and sugar, which Vieira said “are not, and have never been, linked to deforestation.”

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