US proposes 25% tariff to punish Brazil over trade practices

The Trump administration has proposed a new punitive tariff of 25 per cent on many imports from Brazil, after deciding its practices were unfair on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation, top trade official Jamieson Greer said late on Monday.

The measures, under the Section 301 trade statute, cover areas such as electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, intellectual property protection and ethanol market access as well, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said.

The ‌proposed new tariff, subject to public consultation ahead of a July 15 deadline, would exclude some items, such as beef, coffee, rare earths, other metals, energy and aircraft parts.

The USTR said its unfair trade practices investigation into Brazil, started last year under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, had found practices that “are unreasonable and burden or restrict US commerce,” opening the door for a punitive tariff.

Greer called the Brazil action “quite nuanced” because of the broad exemptions. He said that the trade agency will release the findings of several more Section 301 unfair trade practices investigations in coming weeks, adding that substantial tariffs were needed to correct a “giant” US trade deficit.

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment.