RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) 鈥� The Brazilian government has decried the latest and threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs against U.S. products.
The United States on Wednesday said it would impose a new 25% tariff on certain imports from Brazil, citing unfair trade practices by the world鈥檚 10th-biggest economy.
The tariffs, first proposed last month, will take effect July 22. The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains 鈥� including coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice and aircraft components.
In a statement late Wednesday, the office of President Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva refuted the U.S. allegations of unfair trade practices. It said 76% of imports from the United States entered Brazil duty-free in 2025, and said the average tariff effectively applied to U.S. products was only 3.1%.
It said it has taken steps to impose reciprocal tariffs, along with other trade-related countermeasures.
鈥淏razil will immediately begin the procedures necessary to invoke the mechanisms provided for under the reciprocity law … and will also pursue the matter through the World Trade Organization鈥檚 dispute settlement mechanism,鈥� it said, referencing a mechanism that allows it to respond with countermeasures.
The U.S. has a robust trade surplus with Brazil
The United States has for years run a massive trade deficit with the rest of the world, and Trump has cited the lopsided trade numbers to justify his .
But Brazilian imports make an unusual target: The U.S. has persistently piled up trade surpluses with Brazil. Last year, in fact, U.S. exports to Brazil exceeded imports by nearly $42 billion; only the United States鈥� trade surpluses with the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were higher.
The new tariff puts pressure on national exports and increases insecurity for companies in both countries, Brazil鈥檚 National Confederation of Industry said in a statement Thursday.
The Trump administration first on Brazilian imports last July. He cited what he called a 鈥渨itch hunt鈥� against former President Jair Bolsonaro. was on trial at the time for attempting a coup despite his 2022 electoral defeat to Lula and was later convicted. Some of those .
U.S. President Donald Trump at the time also accused Brazil of unfair trade practices and said he had directed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to initiate an investigation under of the Trade Act of 1974.
That led the office to charge Brazil with lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs, among other things, in June.
Lula pointedly referenced that history late Wednesday, blaming the latest round of tariffs on the Bolsonaro family.
Lula鈥檚 office also said: 鈥淏razil does not recognize the legitimacy of investigations that are not grounded in the multilateral rules governing international trade.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X announcing the tariff that they were the result of Lula putting 鈥渉is own ego ahead of making a deal鈥� and not negotiating with the U.S. in good faith.
Brazil鈥檚 government rejected that claim, saying it had 鈥渘ever left the negotiating table.鈥�
Brazil elections may be impacted
The tariff is likely to increase tensions between the two countries ahead of Brazil鈥檚 presidential elections in October, when President Lula is expected to face Sen. Fl谩vio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Fl谩vio Bolsonaro reposted Rubio鈥檚 statement, along with the comment: 鈥淟ula is no longer fit to be the president of Brazil. We are on a plane without a pilot.鈥� He called Lula 鈥渢he Brazilian Biden鈥� and said he 鈥渋s grumpy, reckless, and has become a danger to our nation.鈥�
The two top candidates for October鈥檚 presidential election have previously traded barbs over their responses to the deeply unpopular U.S. tariffs, suggesting that they believe how they are perceived as handling them will be a key factor in the vote.
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Paul Wiseman contributed to this report from Washington D.C.
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