By Brazil Stock Guide – The United States has moved toward imposing a 25% tariff on Brazilian imports after concluding that a range of Brazilian policies — from digital regulation and payment systems to anti-corruption enforcement and deforestation controls — unfairly burden U.S. commerce.

The tariff is still a proposal, not a final measure. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the additional duty would apply to Brazilian goods unless they fall under specific exemptions listed in the notice or are already covered by other U.S. trade measures.

What would be affected

If adopted as proposed, the measure would cover Brazilian exports to the United States that are not specifically exempted. That means the tariff would potentially affect a wide range of industrial, agricultural and consumer goods from Brazil.

The USTR framed the action as a response to six areas of concern:

• digital regulation and court orders affecting U.S. technology companies;
• preferential treatment for Pix in electronic payments;
• Brazil’s tariff preferences for Mexico and India;
• anti-corruption enforcement;
• intellectual property protection;
• ethanol market access;
• illegal deforestation and its impact on agricultural and timber trade.

What would be exempt

The proposed tariff does not cover all Brazilian exports. The USTR listed several categories that would be excluded from the additional 25% duty.

The exemptions include:

• informational materials;
• donations;
• accompanied baggage;
• goods already subject to Section 232 tariffs;
• products listed in the annex to the USTR notice;
• certain raw materials;
• products considered difficult to source in sufficient quantities from the United States or other suppliers;
• goods whose taxation could cause broader supply disruptions in the U.S. economy.

The annex includes several important Brazilian export categories, such as beef products, coffee, orange juice, crude oil, petroleum products, iron ore, aluminum ores and other minerals. It also includes civil aircraft and related parts under specific scope limitations.

Why the exemptions matter

The exemptions suggest that Washington is trying to pressure Brazil without fully disrupting U.S. supply chains. Brazil is a relevant supplier of commodities, food products, energy inputs and industrial materials to the U.S. market.

That is especially important for products such as beef, coffee, orange juice, oil, ores and aircraft-related goods. Including those items in the tariff could raise costs for U.S. companies and consumers, or create shortages in areas where alternative suppliers are limited.

A wider dispute

The case has become one of the most significant trade disputes between Washington and Brasília in years because of its breadth. Rather than focusing on a single product or sector, the U.S. investigation targets Brazilian policies involving technology platforms, electronic payments, preferential tariffs, corruption enforcement, intellectual property, ethanol and illegal deforestation.

The investigation was launched in July 2025. According to the USTR, the agency received more than 295 comments and rebuttal comments, held a public hearing in September 2025 and conducted consultations with the Brazilian government in April 2026 before issuing its determination.

Digital rules and Pix

One of the most sensitive parts of the U.S. complaint involves Brazil’s treatment of American technology companies.

The USTR said Brazilian courts have issued confidential orders requiring U.S. social media platforms to remove political content and suspend accounts, including in cases involving U.S. residents. The agency said those orders exposed companies to daily fines, asset restrictions and potential shutdowns in Brazil.

The report also singles out Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system created and operated by the Brazilian Central Bank. The USTR argues that the central bank’s role as both regulator and operator creates a conflict of interest and that rules requiring financial institutions to offer and prominently display Pix give the system preferential treatment over competing payment services.

Trade preferences

The USTR also challenged Brazil’s preferential tariff arrangements with Mexico and India.

According to the agency, Brazil grants lower tariffs to hundreds of products from those countries in sectors where U.S. exporters also compete, including agriculture, chemicals, machinery and motor vehicles. The USTR said these preferences can encourage companies to relocate production away from the United States to countries that benefit from preferential access to the Brazilian market.

Corruption and IP

The anti-corruption section is among the most politically delicate parts of the document.

The USTR said Brazil has failed to maintain sufficient enforcement against bribery and corruption. It cited concerns raised by the OECD, Transparency International and the Organization of American States, including criticism of the annulment of evidence linked to Operation Car Wash, the renegotiation of leniency agreements and delays in corruption-related judicial proceedings.

The USTR also said Brazil continues to present problems for intellectual property protection, pointing to counterfeit goods, piracy and delays in patent examination, especially for biopharmaceutical patents.

Ethanol and deforestation

Ethanol is another long-running source of tension. The USTR said Brazil abandoned a period of reciprocal trade opening after reinstating restrictions on ethanol imports in 2017. The report says Brazil’s tariff on ethanol has stood at 18% since February 2023 and that U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil fell sharply from their 2018 peak.

The report also links illegal deforestation to trade competitiveness. The USTR said Brazil has a legal framework to combat illegal deforestation but has not enforced it effectively enough, allowing some agricultural and timber products to benefit from lower production costs.

What comes next

The tariff is not yet final. Written comments are due by July 1. Requests to appear at the public hearing must be submitted by June 22, and the hearing is scheduled for July 6 at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

The outcome will depend on the consultation process and on negotiations between Washington and Brasília. But the determination already raises the stakes for Brazilian exporters because the U.S. government has formally concluded that several Brazilian policies can be challenged under Section 301.