The United States imposes a 25% tariff on some Brazilian goods

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on the 15th local time that, per instructions from President Trump, USTR’s Greer has taken final action under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act to impose a 25% tariff increase on certain Brazilian goods. The decision follows a year-long investigation by the USTR. The investigation found that some of Brazil’s measures in areas including digital trade and electronic payment services, unfair preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement intervention, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access, and illegal deforestation constitute “unreasonable practices.” These practices burden or restrict business activities for American farmers, workers, innovative companies, and exporters.

Greer said: “Despite extensive negotiations between the U.S. and Brazil over the past year, these issues have still not been resolved. The United States remains willing to continue negotiations with Brazil to help address the long-standing problems identified in this investigation.” The U.S. will exempt Brazilian beef and coffee, keeping them from being affected by the new 25% tariffs targeting Brazilian goods. (Jin10)