Late on June 1, 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Federal Register notice proposing a 25% Section 301 tariff on all goods of Brazil, with two major carve-outs:
- Articles already covered by Section 232 tariffs (steel, aluminum, copper, and certain heavy equipment) are excluded.
- An Annex lists more than 1,600 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) subheadings that would be exempt, including roughly 430 lines that apply only to civil aircraft uses.
UPCOMING DEADLINES
Written comments are due July 1, 2026, and a public hearing is scheduled for July 6, 2026 at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. USTR faces a July 15, 2026 statutory deadline for taking responsive action.
Read the Federal Register Notice: Brazil Section 301 Actionability and Proposed Action FRN, June 1, 2026 (PDF).
BRAZIL SECTION 301 INVESTIGATION TIMELINE
USTR initiated the Section 301 investigation on July 15, 2025, at the direction of the President. The agency held a public hearing on September 3, 2025, received over 295 written comments and rebuttal comments, and conducted consultations with the Government of Brazil on April 15 and 16, 2026. The official USTR announcement is available at the USTR Section 301 Determination press release.
After reviewing the record, USTR determined that certain Brazilian acts, policies, and practices across six areas are “unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce” under Section 301(b) and Section 304(a) of the Trade Act of 1974.
BRAZIL’S SIX ISSUE AREAS IDENTIFIED BY USTR
USTR’s actionability determination covers six distinct areas. Each is summarized below based on the Federal Register notice.
- Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services
USTR identified two main concerns. First, Brazilian courts have issued secret take-down orders to U.S. social media companies sometimes with global reach, accompanied by daily non-compliance fines and orders to freeze assets. Meta’s transparency reports indicate that Brazil ordered the restriction of about 9,800 items from July to December 2025. Second, USTR found that Brazil’s central bank, in its dual role as regulator and operator of the Pix instant payment system, has created mandates and fee caps that disadvantage U.S. electronic payment service providers.
- Unfair, Preferential Tariffs
Brazil maintains partial-scope preferential trade arrangements with Mexico and India that, according to USTR, cover sectors where both countries are advanced and globally competitive producers. The Federal Register notice states that these arrangements cover over a thousand tariff lines for Mexico and hundreds for India, at rates 10 to 100 percent lower than Brazil’s most-favored-nation (MFN) rate that applies to U.S. exports. In 2025, Brazil imported about $5.9 billion in goods under these preferential commitments.
- Anti-Corruption Enforcement
USTR cited the 2023 annulment of evidence in leniency agreements connected to Operation Car Wash, slow movement of judicial proceedings, and Brazil’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index score of 34 out of 100 (lowest since 2012). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Transparency International were cited as sources for these findings.
- Intellectual Property Protection
Brazil has been on USTR’s Special 301 Watch List since 2007. The notice highlights three persistent issues: insufficient enforcement against counterfeit goods, lengthy patent application pendency (an average of 38.4 months overall and 54 to 63.6 months for biopharmaceutical patents, per WIPO 2025 data), and inconsistent anti-piracy enforcement. Brazil has not joined the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty or the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
- Ethanol Market Access
USTR cited Brazil’s 2017 reinstatement of an ethanol tariff (currently 18% since February 2023) after a period of duty-free bilateral trade beginning in 2010. U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil fell from a peak of $761 million in 2018 to $96 million in 2025, an 87% decline. In 2024, U.S. ethanol imports from Brazil reached around $203 million, while U.S. exports to Brazil were just $53 million.
- Illegal Deforestation
The notice cites estimates that 91% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2023 and 2024 was illegal, and that 51% of land clearing in the Cerrado biome during the same period was illegal. USTR also referenced studies indicating that 95% of agro-conversion losses between 2013 and 2019 were likely illegal, and that Brazil exported $19 billion in forest-risk commodities in 2019.
ANNEX SUMMARY: WHAT’S EXCLUDED FROM THE PROPOSED TARIFF
The Annex to the Federal Register notice identifies HTSUS subheadings that would not be subject to the 25% additional duty. USTR grouped exemptions into four categories: raw materials critical to U.S. supply chains, products that could cause economy-wide disruptions, items not available in sufficient quantities domestically or from alternative sources, and articles where additional tariffs would not contribute substantially to eliminating Brazil’s identified practices.
The Annex spans HTSUS Chapters 02, 05, 07 through 12, 14, 15, 16, 18 through 22, 25 through 34, 36, 38 through 40, 44, 47, 48, 56, 68, 70 through 76, 79 through 81, 83 through 85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 96, and 98.
Two scope markers appear throughout: “Ex” (where only the items matching the product description are excluded) and “Aircraft” (where only civil aircraft articles, engines, parts, components, subassemblies, and ground flight simulators are excluded).
STANDARD EXEMPTIONS (~1,200 HTSUS LINES)
Major categories outside the aircraft carve-out include:
- Meat and offal (Chapter 02): Bovine carcasses, halves, and cuts (fresh, chilled, frozen, or preserved), plus edible offal.
- Fish, plants, and minerals of animal origin (Chapter 05): Coral, shells, cuttlebone.
- Vegetables and tubers (Chapters 07–08): Tomatoes (seasonal subheadings), jicama, chayote, bamboo shoots, capers, cassava, taro, yautia, dasheens.
- Tropical fruits and nuts (Chapter 08): Coconuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, macadamias, plantains, bananas, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes, papayas, oranges, limes, kiwifruit.
- Coffee, tea, mate, and spices (Chapter 09): Roasted and unroasted coffee, green and black tea, maté, pepper, paprika, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, saffron, turmeric.
- Cereals and starches (Chapters 10–11): Barley, canary seed, fonio, triticale, banana and plantain flour, cassava starch.
- Oils, fats, and waxes (Chapter 15): Coconut oil, vegetable waxes, beeswax.
- Prepared meats (Chapter 16): Bovine offal preparations, corned beef.
- Cocoa products (Chapter 18): Cocoa beans, paste, butter, and powder.
- Tapioca and bakery items (Chapter 19): Tapioca preparations, bakery products for religious purposes.
- Prepared fruits, juices, and beverages (Chapters 20–22): Pineapple preparations, orange juice (frozen and not frozen), guava and mango pastes, palm hearts, acai, coffee and tea extracts.
- Mineral products and ores (Chapters 25–26): Graphite, kaolin, calcium phosphates, barytes, magnesite, asbestos (non-crocidolite), mica, fluorspar, iron ore, manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, zinc, tin, chromium, tungsten, uranium, thorium, molybdenum, titanium, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, silver, and antimony ores and concentrates.
- Mineral fuels and oils (Chapter 27): Coal (anthracite, bituminous, and other), lignite, peat, coke, coal tar derivatives, crude petroleum oils, kerosene, jet fuel, distillate and residual fuel oils, lubricating oils and greases, natural gas (liquefied and gaseous), propane, butanes, petroleum coke, petroleum bitumen, and electrical energy.
- Inorganic chemicals (Chapter 28): Hydrogen fluoride, potassium hydroxide, magnesium and zinc oxides, aluminum and titanium oxides, manganese dioxide, lithium and nickel oxides, antimony and tungsten oxides, rare-earth metals, and uranium compounds.
- Organic chemicals (Chapter 29): Selected halogenated hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, phenols, ketones, aldehydes, and aromatic derivatives.
- Other excluded chapters: Pharmaceuticals (Chapter 30), fertilizers (31), tanning and dyeing extracts (32), essential oils (33), soap and surface-active agents (34), explosives (36), photographic goods (37, partial), miscellaneous chemicals (38), plastics (39), rubber (40), wood and articles thereof (44), pulp (47), paper (48), wadding and felt (56), glass (68, 70), pearls and precious metals (71), iron and steel articles (72–73), copper (74), nickel (75), aluminum (76), zinc (79), tin (80), other base metals (81), miscellaneous base metal articles (83), nuclear reactors and machinery (84), electrical equipment (85), optical and medical instruments (90), clocks and watches (91), furniture (94), miscellaneous manufactured articles (96), and special classification provisions (98).
AIRCRAFT EXEMPTIONS (~430 HTSUS LINES)
A second group of exemptions applies only to articles of civil aircraft (all aircraft other than military aircraft), including their engines, parts, components, subassemblies, and ground flight simulators that meet the criteria of General Note 6 of the HTSUS.
This carve-out applies regardless of whether a product is entered under a provision for which the rate of duty “Free (C)” appears in the Special sub-column. Subheadings marked “Aircraft” in the Annex column are limited to these civil aviation uses.
WHAT FALLS OUTSIDE THE EXEMPTIONS
The 25% additional duty would apply to Brazilian-origin goods not listed in the Annex and not covered by Section 232 measures. Reporting from CNBC and Reuters indicates that this would replace a prior 50% duty regime, portions of which were reportedly struck down earlier in 2026, leaving a 10% global tariff baseline in place for Brazilian exports.
TOP BRAZILIAN EXPORTS TO THE U.S. AND THEIR TARIFF STATUS
Many of Brazil’s top exports to the United States in 2025 fall outside the proposed action either because they appear in the Annex or because they are covered by Section 232:
- Annex-exempt: petroleum and coal products, coffee and spices, beef, orange juice, nuts, chemical wood pulp, and aircraft and aircraft parts.
- Section 232 covered: $5.4 billion in iron and steel exports, plus over $1 billion in heavy construction equipment.
KEY DATES IMPORTERS SHOULD CALENDAR
| Date | Event |
| June 1, 2026 | Comment period opens |
| June 22, 2026 | Deadline to request to appear at hearing, with summary of testimony |
| July 1, 2026 | Written comments due |
| July 6, 2026 | Public hearing at U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. |
| July 15, 2026 | Statutory deadline for USTR to take responsive action |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When does the 25% tariff on Brazilian goods take effect?
The tariff is a proposal, not a final rule. USTR is collecting comments through July 1, 2026, and faces a July 15, 2026 statutory deadline for responsive action. No effective date has been published in the June 1 Federal Register notice.
Does the proposed 25% Brazil tariff apply on top of existing duties?
The Federal Register notice describes the 25% as an “additional” Section 301 duty. It would be added to the column 1 general (MFN) rate for the HTSUS line. Articles already subject to Section 232 tariffs are excluded.
What products are exempt from the proposed Brazil tariff?
More than 1,600 HTSUS subheadings are listed in the Annex, including coffee, beef, orange juice, Brazil nuts, cocoa, iron ore, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, civil aircraft parts, and many minerals. The Annex covers about 1,200 standard exemptions plus roughly 430 lines limited to civil aircraft uses.
How are comments submitted on the proposed Brazil tariff?
Comments can be filed through the USTR portal at comments.ustr.gov, docket number USTR-2026-0331 for written comments and USTR-2026-0397 for hearing requests. Written comments are due July 1, 2026.
What HTS chapters are most affected by the Annex exemptions?
The Annex covers exemptions across HTSUS Chapters 02, 05, 07–12, 14, 15, 16, 18–22, 25–34, 36, 38–40, 44, 47, 48, 56, 68, 70–76, 79–81, 83–85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 96, and 98.
ORIGINAL SOURCES
USTR Federal Register Notice (June 1, 2026, PDF): Brazil Section 301 Actionability and Proposed Action FRN
USTR Press Release: Section 301 Determination on Brazil’s Unreasonable Acts, Policies, and Practices
Stay up-to-date on freight news with Green’s Weekly Freight Market Update by following us on LinkedIn. For continuous updates, make sure to check out our website at greenworldwide.com.
