The 25% Brazil tariff imposed by President Donald Trump followed a year-long U.S. investigation, with Washington accusing the Latin American nation of unfair trade practices. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
A new U.S. tariff targeting Brazil took effect on Wednesday (July 22, 2026), while Washington’s other trading partners brace for a fresh volley of duties as President Donald Trump’s temporary global levies expire this week. The 25% Brazil tariff followed a year-long U.S. investigation, with Washington accusing the Latin American giant of unfair trade practices.
This has drawn sharp pushback, although Brazil’s Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin told a press conference on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) that Brazil will seek to resolve the issue through negotiations instead of retaliating.
Various products such as beef, coffee and aircraft parts will be exempted from the levy, and roughly half of Brazil’s exports to the United States would remain excluded from the duty, estimates Valentina Sader of the Atlantic Council think tank. Nonetheless, the move comes as Mr. Trump makes a renewed push to use tariffs as leverage, sparking fears of retaliation and heightened tensions.
Officials could be “using Brazil as an example to send a broader message about its priorities and negotiating approach,” Ms. Sader told AFP. While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs in February, dealing a blow to his ability to impose new duties at will, Washington has moved to rebuild his trade agenda using other powers.
The United States said the tariffs on Brazil were imposed as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva failed to negotiate in good faith. The move also “reinforces the perception that the action is directed not only at Brazil’s trade practices, but also politically at Lula himself,” Ms. Sader said.
The duty is becoming a major campaign flashpoint ahead of Brazil’s October Presidential elections. The American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil recently warned that Washington’s measure affects more than $11 billion in exports.
Mr. Trump on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) also announced a 100% tariff on generic drugs from August 2028, a day after ordering a 50% duty on many Canadian goods to take effect in 30 days. A broader sweep is yet to come, with officials in June proposing tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% targeting 60 trading partners over alleged failures to act against forced labour.
Analysts widely expect the duties over forced labour to replace the temporary 10% global tariff — expiring on Friday (July 24, 2026) — that Mr. Trump imposed after his Supreme Court setback. “We expect to see some action soon,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC.
Forced labor concerns
Mr. Greer said on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) that new action over labour concerns will cover a majority of U.S. trade, though it could reignite trade tensions.
The lower 10% tariff rate would hit U.S. imports from partners including Canada, the European Union, Mexico, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. They were found to have taken some steps against forced labour. Goods from more than 40 other economies such as China, India and Japan face a 12.5% levy.
The E.U. has said that it considers tariffs imposed on these grounds “unjustified.” A separate tranche of U.S. investigations targeting 16 economies over excess industrial capacity is ongoing, and could lead to further duties.
Canada pressure
Washington’s planned 50% tariff on Canadian goods comes amid ongoing talks over a North American free trade pact.
Washington recently declined to extend the accord as-is, and Mr. Greer is set to travel to Mexico from Wednesday (July 22, 2026) to Friday (July 24, 2026) for discussions linked to a joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
U.S. negotiations with Canada have proceeded more slowly. Some lawyers see Mr. Trump’s use of an untested legal provision — Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — as a means to gain leverage over Canada in USMCA negotiations.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) that he was looking at “all options,” adding that he and Mr. Trump had agreed to “intensify discussions” in upcoming weeks. Trade lawyer Dave Townsend of Dorsey & Whitney said higher tariffs could be “aimed at encouraging an agreement between Canada and the United States, or in retaliation for the failure to reach such agreement, or both. “The question, he added, is whether both sides will start a “cycle of escalation and retaliation.”
Published – July 22, 2026 11:51 am IST
