Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks to the media astatine the BRICS Summit successful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Ricardo Moraes | Reuters
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday helium had launched an investigation into Brazil's "unfair" trading practices, a week aft President Donald Trump threatened a 50% tariff connected imports from Latin America's largest economy.
Trump's commercialized war, launched since starting his 2nd word successful January, sets tariffs connected astir each U.S. trading partners, aiming to reorder the planetary system and extremity decades of what helium calls favoritism against the United States.
The USTR investigation, announced last week by Trump, volition determine if Brazil's attraction of integer commercialized and preferential tariffs, among others, is "unreasonable oregon discriminatory and burdens oregon restrict" U.S. commerce, Greer said.
"At President Trump's direction, I americium launching a Section 301 investigation into Brazil's attacks," helium added successful a statement.
Among victims of specified attacks helium cited U.S. societal media and different companies, arsenic good arsenic workers, farmers, and exertion innovators helium described arsenic harmed by Brazil's "unfair trading practices".
Following extended consultations, Greer added, "I person determined that Brazil's tariff and non-tariff barriers merit a thorough investigation, and potentially, responsive action."
Trump justified his 50% tariff from August 1, good supra the complaint of 10% initially proposed, with a request for an extremity to the proceedings of erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly plotting a coup.
The precocious tariff for Brazil surprised galore commercialized experts since its U.S. goods imports transcend its exports, and due to the fact that Trump linked the complaint truthful intelligibly to Bolsonaro's trial.
Brazil offered nary contiguous absorption to quality of the U.S. investigation. On Monday, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said it had yet to person a effect from Washington to an connection it made successful commercialized talks 2 months ago.
During his archetypal term, Trump utilized Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to warrant a spate of tariffs against China. It was besides utilized to analyse different countries for integer services taxes connected U.S. tech firms.
In a statement, USTR said Brazil disadvantaged U.S. firms by mounting little tariffs connected exports of different trading partners and accused it of failing to conflict corruption.
It added that Brazil also charged substantially higher tariffs connected U.S. ethanol exports, and "appears to beryllium failing" to enforce laws against amerciable deforestation, which it said harmed the competitiveness of U.S. timber producers.
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