The United States announced on July 15 the imposition of a 25% tariff on thousands of categories of Brazilian goods, effective July 22.

On July 15, local time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued a statement stating that under the instruction of President Trump, Trade Representative Greer issued final measures under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, imposing a 25% tariff on thousands of Brazilian goods exported to the United States, with the new policy officially taking effect on July 22.

This tariff decision stems from a one-year special investigation by the U.S. side, which determined that Brazil's measures in areas such as digital trade rules, import tariff settings, intellectual property protection, ethanol supply policies, and rainforest control have caused substantial harm to the commercial interests of U.S. companies. The tariff list covers the majority of Brazilian export categories, but exemption clauses have been established for goods such as coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, certain oil and gas products, and aerospace parts, where there is no domestic production capacity in the U.S. or where critical supply chains are vulnerable to shock. U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that the Brazilian government's failure to engage in sincere consultations with the U.S. was the core trigger for the U.S. tariff measures.

In response to the unilateral tariff decision by the U.S., the Brazilian government issued a statement immediately to strongly condemn it, characterizing the move as a unilateral, illegal, and arbitrary trade barrier. Brazilian President Lula publicly stated his refusal to accept the tariff arrangements, bluntly stating that the measure has no reasonable basis, and that Brazil does not recognize the results of the Section 301 investigation which lacks support from multilateral trade rules.

Tracing the process, the Office of the United States Trade Representative initiated the Section 301 investigation against Brazil as early as July 15, 2025, during which it completed all statutory procedures including bilateral consultations, public hearings, and comment collection, resulting in the imposition of tariff penalties one year later.