Late last night, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced it is taking “final action” by imposing a 25 percent tariff on certain goods from Brazil under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective July 22, 2026. A copy of the Federal Register Notice (the “Notice”) is available here.
On June 1, 2026, USTR determined that certain Brazilian acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce and proposed a 25 percent tariff against certain Brazilian imports under Section 301. Following a public comment and hearing process, the previously proposed 25 percent tariff is now confirmed. We highlight the following considerations related to USTR’s latest action:
- USTR largely adopted the proposed list of goods exempted from the 25 percent tariff (see Annexes I and II of the Notice). Notable exemptions include:
- Articles of aluminum, of steel, or of copper or derivative aluminum or steel articles;
- iron and steel waste and scrap;
- wood products;
- semiconductor articles;
- fertilizers;
- pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and organic chemical inputs (each with a “Pharma” scope limitation that restricts the exclusion to pharmaceutical-use articles only);
- certain agricultural products not commercially produced in the United States, such as coffee and cocoa;
- critical minerals, ores, and concentrates and related chemical compounds;
- energy products, including crude and refined petroleum, natural gas, and related fuels; and
- civil aircraft, aircraft engines, and related parts and components.
- The tariff includes no exemption for goods subject to the ongoing Section 301 investigations on forced labor against 60 economies, which proposed 12.5 percent against Brazil and other major trading partners. Therefore, if the force labor tariffs were finalized at 12.5 percent, then certain Brazilian goods could face a total additional tariff rate of 37.5 percent.
We note that USTR announced its “final action” only eight days after the public comment and hearing process concluded. We expect USTR to similarly make a quick announcement of “final action” in the Section 301 investigation on forced labor soon.
