USTR Levies 25% Tariff on Variety of Brazilian Goods, Including Ethanol
The U.S. Office of the Trade Representative said on Wednesday that it will levy a 25% tariff on a variety of Brazilian goods including ethanol, effective July 22, after a year-long review found the country had engaged in “unreasonable or discriminatory” trade practices against the U.S.
The final determination comes after the agency initiated its investigation on July 15, 2025, in an effort to resolve alleged misbalances in the trade dynamic between both nations.
Imposition of the 25% rate on imported ethanol from the South American nation could result in a reciprocal increase in Brazil’s tariff on ethanol from the U.S., which has been at 18% since 2024.
The USTR warned the Brazilian government in its determination against responding to the levy by increasing its own tariff rates, noting that such an effort “may indicate that U.S. action at this level is not sufficient to obtain the elimination of Brazil’s acts, policies, and practices determined to be actionable in this investigation.”
Similarly, the duties could also compel the Brazilian government to return to the negotiating table to lower the rates between both countries.
Despite being unable to resolve certain issues with the Brazilian government over the past year, USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer said the agency remains “open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation.”
The determination comes after the USTR held a hearing last week following its initial proposal on the matter, in which several proponents for the ethanol industry called for the imposition of the 25% rate alongside other policy actions that would further resolve the trade misbalance.
And while some other respondents implored the agency at the time to negotiate with the Brazilian government to reduce or remove tariffs on certain goods altogether, the agency said in its determination that the president insisted on a broad-based levy.
“As noted above, the president directed imposition of a 25 percent tariff on all goods of Brazil, with exemptions for certain goods, finding that alternatives such as a lower tariff rate, negotiation without the imposition of tariffs, and action under other statutory authority without action under Section 301 would be less effective and less preferable,” the agency said.
USTR has been investigating Brazil under a wide-ranging memo issued by the president in July 2025, in which he ordered the agency to look into the trade dynamic.
In that memo, President Trump decried the tariff rate on a variety of products,including ethanol, noting that the U.S. tariff on the biofuel “is a mere 2.5%,” while imports of Brazilian ethanol to the states amounted to $200 million in 2024. Over the same period, domestic ethanol sent to Brazil fell short at only $52 million in value by year’s end.
The Brazilian government has placed duties ranging from 16% to 20% on imports of American ethanol since 2017, with the rate set most recently at 18%. The U.S., meanwhile, has applied only a de minimis 1.9% to 2.5% rate on Brazilian ethanol imports for years.
The decision was praised on Wednesday night by Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor, who noted that “for nearly a decade, Brazil has unfairly blocked U.S. ethanol imports, while their own producers enjoy complete and unfettered access to American markets.”
“That imbalance has caused extraordinary harm to U.S. farmers and ethanol producers, and today’s decision marks an important step toward repairing the damage,” Skor said.
Reporting by Patrick Newkumet, pnewkumet@opisnet.com; Editing by Jordan Godwin, jgodwin@opisnet.com